No, Joaquin Niemann’s Two-Stroke Tantrum Penalty Is Not the USGA Picking on LIV Golf. Here’s Why.

Joaquin Niemann made headlines all day Friday, and it certainly wasn’t for the brilliant five-under 65 he posted during the second round at the 2026 U.S. Open.

Niemann became the first player to be hit with a two-stroke penalty at a major for throwing a tantrum and violating the new player conduct policies that were implemented this year. More specifically, he threw a club.

Here’s how it went down: Niemann, playing with Alex Smalley and Shane Lowry, was in one of the last groups to tee off Thursday afternoon. As sunlight began to disappear later in the evening, Niemann sent his first two tee shots on the 6th hole (his 15th hole of the day) out of bounds. His third attempt from the tee box landed in the fescue. When Niemann requested a relief ruling due to concern about fire ants near his ball and it was denied, he kicked a nearby marker flag and hurled his sand wedge into the Southampton night sky.

According to an eye witness who spoke with The Athletic, Niemann’s club flew at least 50 yards.

Somehow, in the year 2026, nobody captured it on video. Or at least video of the incident hasn’t been released yet, which is a disappointment considering it was apparently an Uncle Rico-like toss.

After his round Thursday was cut off due to darkness, Niemann finished up his first 18 holes early Friday morning with a score of six-over 76. But in the minutes between finishing his opening round and teeing off to start his second 18, Niemann was informed he received a two-stroke penalty for “serious misconduct” on the 6th hole. That nine was now an 11. That 76 was now a 78.

NEXT: Winners and Losers From Second Round of the 2026 U.S. Open: An Ugly Day for LIV Golf

Niemann did not deny the club toss. He did, however, admit that he wasn’t aware of the potential of there being a penalty—despite these conduct rules being in effect in the two previous majors.

“I'm not someone that likes to be in that behavior,” Niemann said Friday. “I'm the first one to judge myself when I don't behave on the golf course. That was a misbehave from my part. I felt a little bit extra penalized with a two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is.”

One of the more ridiculous narratives to come out of this story is that Niemann was the first golfer to be handed an actual two-stroke penalty, not just a warning, because of his affiliation with LIV Golf. The few remaining LIV Golf fans have been very quick to point that out on social media, and according to Fried Egg Golf, Niemann’s camp is running with that excuse as well.

That’s not a thing. The reason Niemann is the first player to receive such a penalty is right there in the rulebook.

At the start of the 2026 season, the four majors and the PGA Tour collaborated on a new code of conduct policy that would hold golfers to a higher standard of behavior on the course. But here’s the kicker: Each major has the opportunity to handle discipline in its own way. Last month, the PGA Championship posted a long list of rules for player conduct in the Aronimink locker room. Those rules included the expected guidelines for player conduct (no throwing clubs, no physical or verbal abuse, etc.) but also featured violations that read like some pretty humorous nitpicking, including:

Listening to music during competition with no headphones
Using a cell phone during the round
Wearing a hat backwards

While the specifics of the U.S. Open player conduct policy likely weren’t too far off from the long list of guidelines at the PGA Championship, how they enforce it is different. It is, indeed, up to those running the major to decide what to do with examples of “series misconduct.” Here is the USGA’s statement:

“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.”

NEXT: The Most Important Question Bryson DeChambeau Left Unanswered By Skipping Media After U.S. Open Crash

The decision to implement these conduct rules followed a tantrum-filled 2025 major season. At last year’s U.S. Open alone, Rory McIlroy tossed a club in disgust and shattered a tee marker in the same round. Wyndham Clark destroyed his locker after missing the cut. Neither were docked any strokes for their actions because the rules had not been implemented yet.

This year, Sergio Garcia was the first player to receive an official conduct warning after he slammed his driver into a water cooler at the Masters and broke his club. Robert MacIntyre directed a middle finger toward an Augusta green. They weren’t given a two-stroke penalty because the Masters has the right to handle it differently than the U.S. Open.

Niemann wasn’t targeted because of his LIV roots. It was up to the U.S. Open governing body to decide his fate, and that’s exactly what happened. If a player goes down a similar path and chucks a club on Saturday or Sunday, he should face the same two-stroke penalty as Niemann did.

Niemann, the first golfer in at least 25 years to make the cut at a PGA Tour event after carding an 11 on a single hole, will continue his eventful U.S. Open on Saturday. He’ll tee off in the third round at 10:55 a.m. ET in a pairing with Jordan Spieth.

More Golf from Sports Illustrated

Add us as a preferred source on Google