Joaquin Niemann will make the cut at the US Open this week after a truly special second round at Shinnecock Hills.
Niemann started off incredibly poorly on Thursday and really struggled around Shinnecock.
However, the Chilean posted an incredible second-round 65 on Friday at Shinnecock Hills to follow up his shocking 78 on day one.
Joaquin Niemann has been one of the best players on LIV Golf over the past 18 months or so.
However, the 27-year-old has really struggled in the majors, with just one top-10 finish to his name since joining LIV.
After his first round at the US Open, it looked like he was set to miss his third cut in his last six major starts.
However, Niemann fought back on Friday at Shinnecock Hills, and that would not have been easy to do, given the controversy he caused during his first round.
Joaquin Niemann makes statement after receiving two-shot penalty at the US Open
Niemann was docked two strokes after throwing his club on the sixth hole at Shinnecock Hills during his first round.
Niemann responded when asked whether he believes he was deserving of the two-stroke penalty he received for his poor behavior.
“I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings,“ he said.
“Then, yeah, got pretty frustrated. I’m not someone who likes to behave like that. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course.
“Yeah, that was a misbehavior 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.
“I was playing good golf. I got expectations. I would like to win this tournament, as anybody here. Yeah, I mean, I work hard every day to give me the best chance of winning.
“Yeah, I mean, I hit two terrible tee shots, came out of nowhere. Hitting the golf ball at 8:30 p.m., I felt like my body wasn’t quite there. Yeah, I had a bad lie on the third tee shot in between the fairways, and it was a pretty bad lie.
“I saw a lot of ants there, and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants, and like, he say, no. To be honest, I was pretty — I wasn’t angry asking him. I was pretty normal, pretty chill, because I knew I needed to keep going and try to shoot the lowest score possible.
“After that shot, I hit it, I lay up, and the whole frustration went inside me. I think they blew the horn already. I’m not sure if they did or not, but after I hit that shot, yeah, I was — like all the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist to throw it away.
“Yeah, I mean, I was looking around. There was no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it, but yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn’t go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there.“
Joaquin Niemann comments on his ability to bounce back
Niemann responded when asked by reporters how he was able to put the two-stroke penalty behind him so quickly.
“I think with just good team around me,“ he said
“Finished the round, I have four or five people on my team around me. I was frustrated. They were trying to get me up. I just tried to do my best.“
He was then asked if he was aware of the rule put in place to tackle poor behavior on the golf course.
“No. I mean — no, I wasn’t,“ the man from Chile replied.
“I mean, obviously I finished my round this morning. I had three holes left. Signed my scorecard, and then a referee came up to me and said, I need to talk to you. I was, like, sure. I knew I had misbehaved, but I feel like everybody had some, and it’s never going to be anything major like two-shot penalty, you know?
“So, yeah, I mean, he started talking to me. They consider with the whole committee that it was a right decision to give me a two-shot penalty, which I kind of, like, a little bit — obviously I was trying to argue back and trying to escape the two-shot penalty.
“But, yeah, I mean, it’s their decision, and I feel like, yeah, I wouldn’t be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so yeah, I mean, I agree.“
