Joaquin Niemann has become the first golfer to be hit with a penalty under the new code of conduct rules after an astonishing club-throwing tantrum at the US Open.
The LIV rebel launched into a prolonged sulk during his horror show at the sixth hole on Thursday, which only came to light ahead of the second round when it transpired he had landed a two-stroke sanction.
The incident commenced after the Chilean sliced two shots out of bounds on the par four, when his third effort ended in the fescue grass.
According to a volunteer at the hole, who was speaking the Athletic, Niemann grew angry when he was denied free relief from what he claimed was the presence of fire ants by his ball.
Having kicked the white flag that marked his ball, he then hurled his iron into the rough, before eventually completing the hole in nine strokes.
With the penalty it was jumped up to an 11, taking his score for the round to 78.
It was a difficult day for LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann at the US Open on Thursday
It was revealed after his round that he had been hit by a two-shot ‘code of conduct’ penalty
It was the first such sanction since the code of conduct rules were introduced for the 2026 major season.
Both Bob MacIntyre and Sergio Garcia received warnings at the Masters, but Niemann’s transgression was deemed sufficiently egregious that officials jumped straight to a penalty.
On Friday, Niemann raced up the leaderboard with a brilliant five-under-par 65 – a remarkable 13 shots better than his post-penalty round one score.
The impressive day two showing should see him comfortably make the cut, an improbable result given his starting position on the leaderboard on Friday morning.
