LIV Golf Star Gets Rare Two-Stroke Penalty at U.S. Open for Throwing a Fit on the Course

Joaquin Niemann carded an 11 on the par-4 sixth hole in Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann had a disastrous hole in the first round of the U.S. Open that all but ended his hopes of winning his first major championship well before the weekend even begins. On Friday, that hole got even worse as he was issued a two-stroke penalty by the USGA for “serious misconduct” which turned his nine into an 11 on the par-4 sixth hole.

Niemann hit two drives out of bounds on the sixth hole and then scrambled his way to a quadruple bogey. On the USGA’s official U.S. Open leaderboard, the play-by-play of his hole shows that he received the two penalty shots after he hit his sixth shot from the native area. He hit that one just 112 yards and still had 131 yards to the pin, so he was clearly frustrated with his play and ended up throwing his club in disgust, which led to the punishment.

2026 U.S. Open Second Round: Full List of Tee Times and How to Make the Cut at Shinnecock

“Joaquin Niemann was assessed two penalty strokes for throwing a club on the 6h hole during Round 1,” the USGA announced on Friday. “This act was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b.”

Here’s how that hole went for Niemann:

Joaquin Niemann’s sixth hole on Thursday was a disaster. | @USGA

The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig was able to track down some information on Niemann’s club toss, and these details are pretty wild:

Just talked to a volunteer, Tristan Chang, who witnessed Joaquin Niemann’s club throw that cost him a two-shot penalty:

-After hitting two balls OB, Niemann tried to get free relief from fire ants (to no avail) from where his third drive ended up in the fescue
-Got visibly…

— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) June 19, 2026

Niemann ended up carding an eight-over 78 in his first round, which isn’t all that bad considering what he did on the sixth hole and the penalty strokes he received.

He started his second round early Friday morning with two straight birdies, so he can still make the cut. But even if he does, it feels like there’s no way that he will be able to contend.

Who is Joaquin Niemann

Niemann was a rising star on the PGA Tour before leaving for LIV Golf in August 2022. He had two wins on the PGA Tour, with his biggest coming at the 2022 Genesis Invitational at famed Riviera Country Club. He has won eight times on LIV Golf, with his most recent one coming two weeks ago in a playoff at LIV Golf Korea.

Winners and Losers From First Round of the 2026 U.S. Open: Wyndham > Wind

Niemann’s success on the PGA Tour and then LIV Golf hasn’t led to much success at major championships, however. The 27-year-old Chilean’s best showing at a major came last year at the PGA Championship when finished tied for eighth, his only top 10 so far on the biggest stages of professional golf.

His actions at Shinnecock could end up costing him a chance of making it to the weekend. And if it does, he has nobody to blame but himself.

---