Joaquin Niemann isn't on the first page of the U.S. Open leaderboard, but he's garnered arguably the most attention through two days at Shinnecock Hills.
Niemann fired one of the lowest rounds of the event Friday with a sizzling 5-under 65, but the two-stroke penalty the Chilean received for throwing a club after a tough hole in Round 1 has made the most headlines.
Following Friday's round, Niemann spoke with the media about the USGA's disciplinary action, admitting he's "not proud" of his actions.
"Sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things (don't) go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there," Niemann said.
On the sixth hole Thursday, Niemann fired two balls out of bounds and ended up carding a quintuple-bogey 9. However, an official approached him after his round to inform him of the penalty, which is part of a new code of conduct for the major championships. The additional shots gave Niemann a septuple-bogey 11 and turned his 76 into a 78.
The rule covers serious misconduct, something the USGA defined to Gabby Herzig of The Athletic as:
"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."
"I knew I had a misbehavior, but I feel like everybody had some, and it's never going to be anything major like a two-shot penalty, you know?" Niemann said.
"They consider with the whole committee that it was the right decision to give me a two-shot penalty, which I kind of, like, a little bit - obviously I was trying to argue back and try to not get those two-shot penalty. But, yeah, I mean, it's their decision, and I feel like, yeah, I wouldn't be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way, so yeah, I mean, I agree."
Niemann turning things around with his 65 Friday showed remarkable mental strength, accomplishing something we haven't seen in recent memory. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, no golfer has carded an 11 or worse on a hole at a major championship or PGA Tour event in the last 25 years and still made the cut.
