Joaquin Niemann was assessed a two-stroke penalty in Round 1 of the U.S. Open for “serious misconduct” at the par-4 sixth hole at Shinnecock.
Niemann, who did not complete his opening round on Thursday, hit two shots out-of-bounds at the sixth, finally putting one in play with his fifth stroke. He hit his sixth shot before the horn blew for the suspension of play due to darkness.
He returned Friday morning and made an 11, which looked rather confusing on his Shot Tracker on usopen.com:
After his finished his round, the USGA cleared up the confusion. Niemann was given a two-stroke penalty for “throwing a club” at the sixth during Round 1. “This act was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b,” the USGA wrote in a note to the media.
That explains the “Shot 7: Penalty” and “Shot 8: Penalty” on Niemann’s Shot Tracker, which were assessed where Niemann hit his sixth shot Thursday evening, which is where the club throw must have happened. There is no video evidence, yet.
In 2019, the USGA adopted a new “Code of Conduct” rule, Rule 1.2b, that had two bullet points:
Sets the Committee’s own standards for how players should conduct themselves, and
May set penalties less than disqualification (such as a one-stroke penalty or a two-stroke penalty/loss of hole penalty) for a player’s breach of those standards.
Whatever Niemann did, it met this criteria. He wound up shooting a 78 in Round 1 and has birdied the first two holes of his second round.
When asked for further clarification on Rule 1.2b, the USGA said this:
“Serious Misconduct: If a player’s (or their caddie’s) behavior is so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf, in accordance with Rule 1.2b, the Chief Referee, in consultation with the Championship Director, may apply a penalty of two strokes or disqualification, taking account of the frequency, impact, intent and severity of the misconduct.”
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com