Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann found himself in hot water at the U.S. Open on Friday after tournament officials handed him a two-stroke penalty for hurling his club during his first-round play at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York.
The LIV Golf competitor had a disastrous time on the par-four sixth hole during Thursday’s opening round at the notoriously challenging Southampton course. After sending two consecutive drives out of bounds, Niemann lost his composure and flung his club after failing to hit the green on an approach shot, with blustery wind conditions making things even tougher for players on the course.
Tournament organizers determined that the outburst amounted to “serious misconduct” under the rules of golf. Niemann ended up carding a septuple bogey on the hole — one of the worst possible scores a golfer can record.
The first round had already been interrupted the evening before, when play was halted due to fading daylight. When action resumed early Friday morning, a dense fog rolled in and pushed the restart back by an additional two hours.
By the time Niemann had played through the first three holes of his second round, he sat a staggering 14 strokes behind leader Wyndham Clark.
