Joaquin Niemann given penalty after breaking new rule at US Open

Joaquin Niemann became the first golfer to be penalised under a new ruleset for all major championships.

The 126th US Open is well under way at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York with Wyndham Clark holding a commanding lead heading into the weekend.

Clark sits at seven-under, a 36-hole scoring record for a US Open at Shinnecock, which is a stark contrast to how he fared in last year’s US Open where he was banned from Oakmont for ‘smashing up a locker’ after a dismal showing.

The cut fell at four-over, with 72 players making the weekend but two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau wasn't one of them.

The LIV Golf star shot rounds of 70 and 75 to finish on five-over and miss the cut by two - the third major in a row DeChambeau has failed to make the weekend and the first time in his career he's missed three straight major cuts.

A new code of conduct was introduced across all major championships for the 2026 season. It hands officials the power to penalise players for on-course behaviour, with sanctions ranging from a warning to shots added to a scorecard.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Spain's Sergio Garcia were both reprimanded for their conduct at The Masters in April. Now the first stroke penalty under the policy has been dished out.

Niemann is the first golfer to be hit with a two-shot penalty under rule 1.2b, punished for "serious misconduct" during his opening round.

The Chilean threw his sand wedge in frustration on the par-four sixth hole after twice hitting his tee shot out of bounds and then finding an awkward lie.

His nine on the hole was upped to an 11.

Niemann hadn't even finished the hole when play was suspended for darkness, forcing him to return on Friday morning. He reportedly had his club delivered back to him by a police officer.

He signed for an eight-over 78 before responding with a five-under 65 in the second round to make the cut on three-over.

Niemann said: "I finished my round, signed my scorecard, and then a referee came up to me and said 'I need to talk to you'.

"I knew I had a misbehaviour but I feel like everybody had some and it's never going to be anything major like a two-shot penalty, you know?

"They considered with the whole committee that it was a right decision to give me a two-shot penalty. I was trying to argue back but it's their decision and I feel like I wouldn't be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so, yeah, I agree."

He added: "I hit it two times out of bounds then got pretty frustrated. I had a bad lie, I saw a lot of ants and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants and he said 'no'.

"I wasn't angry asking him. I think they blew the horn but after I hit that shot all the frustration came inside me and I had my club in my hand and I couldn't resist to throw it away. There was no-one there but I'm not proud of it."

Niemann is the most successful individual player in LIV Golf history with a record eight wins. He won LIV Golf Korea earlier this season — his first victory of 2026 — beating Talor Gooch in a playoff.

His major record tells a different story. Niemann failed to qualify for the 2026 Masters, making Shinnecock just his second major start of the year. He missed the cut at the 2025 US Open after rounds of 75-75 and exited the 2025 Open early too.