Joaquin Niemann has become the first golfer to receive a penalty for breaking the new code of conduct policy introduced into the 2026 Majors.
The LIV Golf star was assessed two penalty strokes for throwing a club on the 6th hole during round one of the US Open, with the USGA stating the act "was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b."
Niemann made a nine on the par 4 6th in round one, which was upped to an 11 with his code of conduct penalty. The Chilean drove two balls out of bounds to the right, and eventually signed for an eight-over-par 78.
The Athletic's Gabby Herzig reported that Niemann was "visibly angry" when trying to get a free drop from fire ants before kicking a flag that a volunteer had placed in the ground to mark his ball's location. He "continued to kick around the sand" and threw his iron "approximately 50 yards," Herzig says, with a police officer retrieving it for him.
Just talked to a volunteer, Tristan Chang, who witnessed Joaquin Niemann’s club throw that cost him a two-shot penalty:-After hitting two balls OB, Niemann tried to get free relief from fire ants (to no avail) from where his third drive ended up in the fescue -Got visibly…June 19, 2026
"Yeah, I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings. Then, yeah, got pretty frustrated," Niemann said after his second round.
"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.
"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."
Rule 1.2b states:
The Committee may set its own standards of player conduct in a Code of Conduct adopted as a Local Rule.
The Code may include penalties for breach of its standards, such as a one-stroke penalty or the general penalty.
The Committee may also disqualify a player for serious misconduct in failing to meet the Code’s standards.
The code of conduct policy has been a hot topic in 2026, with Robert MacIntyre and Sergio Garcia each receiving warnings at The Masters in April.
The PGA of America’s chief championships officer, Kerry Haigh, spoke about it at the PGA Championship last month, where he said the new rules came about after several meetings between the PGA, Augusta National, The R&A, and the USGA, as well as the PGA and DP World Tours, in which they discussed "how to come up with a program that we feel is fair and effective".
"If a player does something egregious, then, unfortunately, we would give a warning to that player," Haigh explained.
"And if they were to do it again, there would be a two-shot penalty."
"We've been working closely with the organisers of the other Majors and the tours more broadly," R&A CEO Mark Darbon said earlier this year.
"I would expect to see a similar policy introduced this summer."
Golf Monthly understands it is a three-strike system that carries over throughout the tournament, with a warning moving onto a two-stroke penalty and then disqualification for a third breach.
The USGA confirmed to Golf Monthly that Niemann did not receive a warning prior to his penalty, citing: 'Serious Misconduct: If a player’s (or their caddie’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 Director, may apply a penalty of two strokes or disqualification, taking account of the frequency, impact, intent and severity of the misconduct.'
Eight-time LIV Golf winner Niemann will need a strong second round to make the cut at Shinnecock Hills. He is playing in his seventh US Open this week, with his best finish of T23 coming back in 2020 at Winged Foot.
Niemann has a perplexing Major record with just one top-10, coming at the 2025 PGA Championship, from 27 starts.
