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Joaquin Niemann Penalty: JoaquÃn Niemann's first round at the U.S. Open went from bad to worse.
The Chilean golfer hit two balls out of bounds on the par-4 sixth hole Thursday. That hole was his 15th of the day.
Play was suspended shortly after due to darkness at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Things didn't improve when the round resumed Friday morning.
Niemann initially carded a quintuple-bogey 9 on the hole. The United States Golf Association later changed that score to an 11.
The change came after officials hit him with a two-stroke penalty for throwing his club. The incident happened Thursday night.
Niemann's approach shot, his sixth on the hole, landed short of the green. He reacted by throwing his club.
A USGA volunteer who witnessed the moment told The Athletic that Niemann had asked a rules official for relief from fire ants near his ball.
The request was denied. Niemann then kicked a flag marking his ball in the native grass. He threw his club an estimated 50 yards.
The USGA ruled the outburst amounted to "serious misconduct" under Rule 1.2b of the Rules of Golf.
That rule requires players to act with integrity and show consideration for others and the course.
It also gives tournament committees the authority to enforce standards of conduct, with penalties ranging from a single stroke to disqualification.
Niemann, the LIV Golf League captain, finished the first round at 8-over 78. He had already begun his second round when the penalty was announced.
The world No. 80 is the first player penalized under a major's code-of-conduct policy this season.
He's not the first to draw scrutiny, though. Sergio GarcÃa received a code-of-conduct warning at the Masters in April.
That marked the first such warning in tournament history. GarcÃa broke his driver on a cooler during a second-round outburst at Augusta National.
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