Joaquin Niemann may have said that he came to the 2026 US Open playing good golf and carrying genuine expectations. This year is the LIV Golf star’s seventh start to the US Open after a strong LIV Golf season. But little did he know that the clubs he thought would do the talking became the reason he made unwanted history. 

He has now become the first golfer to get a penalty, for breaking the new code of conduct policy that’s implemented. After receiving a two-stroke penalty he finally spoke at the conference, addressing the issue head-on.

“Yeah, I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings. Then, yeah, I got pretty frustrated. I’m not someone who likes to be in that behavior. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course. Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part. I felt like a little bit extra penalized with two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is. I think I’m going to learn from it. It definitely kind of helped me a little bit to have a better round today,” he said.

“I saw a lot of ants there, and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants, and he said no. To be honest, I wasn’t angry about asking him. I was pretty normal, pretty chill, because I knew I needed to keep going. After that shot, I lay down, and all the frustration went inside me. I had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist throwing it away. I was looking around. There were no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it,” Niemann explained.

On Thursday, things took a sharp turn for Niemann as he was on the par-4 sixth. He hit two tee shots out of bounds and drove his third tee shot into a native area. That shot landed on the left side of the fairway, 131 yards short of the pin. According to ESPN, Niemann sought relief after noticing ants near his ball and claimed the situation constituted a dangerous playing condition. Officials reviewed the request but ultimately denied relief.

The situation escalated as he was observed by a volunteer kicking the flag that marked his ball and throwing his club 50 yards away. His frustration with the course was real, given that he had finished a hole with a quintuple bogey nine.

Under these circumstances, the USGA reviewed and ruled out a new code of conduct policy. They further ruled his behavior serious conduct, handing him a two-shot penalty. His score on the whole went from a nine to an eleven, and he finished round one at 8 over 78.

The USGA further clarified its ruling. “If a player’s behavior is so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf, in accordance with Rule 1.2b, the Chief Referee, in consultation with the Championship Directorate, may apply a penalty of two strokes or disqualification, taking account of frequency, impact, intent, and severity of misconduct.”

The USGA applied Rule 1.2b, which allows major championships to adopt a code of conduct as a local rule. Under that code, players are expected to act with integrity, show consideration to others, and take good care of the course. This policy, introduced across all four majors in 2026, follows a three-step structure: a warning first, a two-shot penalty second, and disqualification for the third offense. Due to the circumstances, the USGA bypassed the warning stage entirely, citing the serious nature of the outburst.

This although is not surprising, as the shift toward stricter enforcement was already beginning to take shape. Notably, in April, R&A CEO Mark Dorborn confirmed a code of conduct is likely to be announced at the Open.

Recent incidents show why governing bodies have been looking for more consistency. Like, for instance, at the Masters this April, Sergio Garcia snapped his driver against a water cooler on the par-4 second hole after slamming it into the tee box. Although Augusta National’s competition committee chairman, Geoff Yang, issued Garcia a code of conduct warning on the first tee, Garcia did not lose a stroke.

That was not a lone incident.  Robert MacIntyre drew a reprimand after flashing a middle finger at the 15th green and slamming his club into the ground. He also had walked away without a penalty stroke.

The game is not easy for sure, but fans have also taken a point to criticize Rory McIlroy for the same thing. At the 2025 US Open at Oakmont, Rory McIlroy was also seen throwing his club after pulling his approach shot into the left. But that time, the USGA did not have a formal policy to push for that behavior.

Despite everything Thursday threw at him, Niemann has made his position back on the course. He birdied five of his first six holes in Round 2 and went out with an aggressive mindset. He posted 5-under 65, one of the two lowest rounds of the day.