Jon Rahm‘s club throw at The Open sparked an immediate debate over whether he deserves a two-stroke penalty. The LIV Golf player arrived at Royal Birkdale after rebounding from a winless 2025 season. Although he opened with a round of one-under 69, his second round was shaping up to be much better. He already had four birdies and just two bogeys across 14 holes. But he made a costly mistake on the par-three 15th that resulted in a bogey.

Rahm started with a 210-yard shot, which went to the left and landed on the fairway instead of the green. He realized it after taking the shot and threw the club in frustration. The club had a big first bounce followed by multiple bounces. NUCLR GOLF shared a seven-second clip of the moment on X and asked whether the Spaniard should receive a two-stroke penalty for it.

Rahm’s temper has become a recurring subplot. In 2026, at Aronimink Golf Club, he accidentally hit a volunteer on the shoulder with a divot after a frustrated swing. However, he later apologized and admitted that he “couldn’t feel any worse.” A year before that, he engaged in a tense exchange at Royal Portrush with a fan after they whistled during his backswing on the 11th hole.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

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59394015

Oops, bogey!

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The Open is very serious about both fan and player conduct. In fact, after the final-round incident with Wyndham Clark, the R&A announced The Open Commitment a few days ago, which focuses on the fan code of conduct. But apart from poor golfer behavior, there are other things to consider.

The Rules Committee must assess the severity of such incidents before passing judgment. It considers the severity, intent, and impact of the outburst. After reviewing his actions, the committee issued a code-of-conduct warning to Rahm. If he does something similar during the remainder of the event, he will face a two-stroke penalty. But for now, he has been let go with a warning, unlike Joaquin Niemann, who got the penalty without a warning at the U.S. Open.

However, there’s a vast difference between the two incidents. Niemann’s incident was a serious act of misconduct for several reasons. He threw the club 50 yards away and then also kicked a spotter’s flag. He got a penalty because of that severity. But what happened during the opening round of the U.S. Open invites comparison for online debate.

Golf fans demand a penalty for Jon Rahm’s actions

While the R&A let Rahm off the hook with a warning, many golf fans argued for a two-stroke penalty.

Many comments touched upon the Niemann incident.

One fan wrote, “Should it? No, but the precedent was set with Joaquin Niemann earlier this year. You have to now.”

Another said, “If that’s not a penalty, we may as well eliminate the rule now.”

Fans are asking for consistency in implementing the rules. They see both incidents in the same light and want the same penalty for Jon Rahm.

However, there’s a fair distinction between the two because Niemann continued to show poor conduct even after throwing the club. His caddie also got into a heated conversation with journalist Gabby Herzig after she reported about the two-stroke penalty. Even though this happened after the penalty was given, it reflects the severity of the misconduct. In contrast, Rahm just threw his club and then went on with his round.

Some reactions went further, calling for harsher punishment than just a penalty.

“Really should be more than penalizing shots. Ban or some sort of suspension. Rahm threw the club. Could have hit someone,” wrote an X user.

While a penalty or even disqualification from an event is still possible for serious misconduct, banning a professional for throwing his club is unheard of.

While many demanded a penalty, some felt in their bones that Rahm would avoid the penalty despite the criticism.

“Yep. But it won’t be,” predicted one user, and their prediction came true.

One fan even argued that there should be no questioning or review of such an incident. According to them, any unsportsmanlike conduct should automatically warrant a punishment.

“Yes, unsportsmanlike conduct = 2 strokes,” the fan wrote.