US Open star breaks new rule and slapped with first ever two-shot penalty | Golf | Sport

Joaquin Niemann accepted that he broke a new rule at the US Open but claims the penalty imposed upon him was harsh. Shinnecock Hills has a well-established reputation for testing the patience of the world’s finest golfers during its previous US Open stints as host.

For virtually the entire field — with the exception of Wyndham Clark — that proved to be the case at some stage across the opening two rounds. Niemann was no different on Long Island’s East End. During the back nine of his opening round on Thursday, the LIV Golf star made a complete hash of the sixth hole, losing two balls off the tee and struggling desperately to escape the native areas and reach the green.

After finding the native area on his fifth shot, Niemann hurled his club “approximately 50 yards” and declined to retrieve it after being denied relief from ants near his ball, before falling short with his approach.

The episode resulted in Niemann receiving a two-shot penalty from the USGA under newly introduced regulations aimed at discouraging poor conduct on the golf course. Niemann did not dispute the incident when speaking to the press following his second round on Friday, but took issue with the extent of his punishment.

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“Yeah, I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings,” Niemann said. “Then, yeah, got pretty frustrated. I’m not someone that like to be in that behavior.

“I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course.. Niemann – who recovered well to shoot a five-under 65 Friday to go three-over par for the tournament – continued to say he was in the wrong, but that the penalty didn’t fit the crime.” Niemann – who bounced back impressively to card a five-under 65 on Friday to stand three-over par for the tournament – went on to acknowledge he was at fault, but believed the penalty was excessive.

“Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part. I felt like a little bit extra penalized with [a] two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is,” Niemann said. “I think I’m going to learn from it. It definitely kind of helped me a little bit to have a better round today.” The 27-year-old confirmed he requested relief after spotting ants as he concluded play on Thursday.

“I hit two terrible tee shots, came out of nowhere. Hitting the golf ball at 8:30 p.m., I felt like my body wasn’t quite there,” Niemann said. “Yeah, I had a bad lie on the third tee shot in between the fairways, and it was a pretty bad lie.

“I saw a lot of ants there, and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants, and like, he say, no. To be honest, I was pretty – I wasn’t angry asking him. I was pretty normal, pretty chill, because I knew I needed to keep going and try to shoot the less possible.

“After that shot, I hit it, I lay up, and the whole frustration went inside me. I think they blew the horn already. I’m not sure if they did or not, but after I hit that shot, yeah, I was – like all the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist to throw it away.

“Yeah, I mean, I was looking around. There was no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it, but yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn’t go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there.”