Joaquin Niemann was handed a two-stroke penalty after throwing a club on the sixth hole during his opening round at the US Open.
Shinnecock Hills got the better of Niemann in the end, as he carded an eight-over par 78 which included an 11 on the sixth hole, after he was docked two strokes for his flagrant display of ill-discipline.
The 27-year-old Chilean bounced back superbly well on day two, firing a scintillating 65 that saw him climb back inside the cutline.
However, any real chance that Niemann had of winning the US Open most likely went when he was handed a two-stroke penalty for throwing his club in anger at Shinnecock Hills.
On Friday, Joaquin Niemann said he was treated harshly at the US Open, after he found out he had been penalized.
He actually has a point when you consider the fact that he definitely hasn’t been the only player who has thrown a club at Shinnecock this week.
Joaquin Niemann’s coach speaks out after club throwing controversy
Niemann is coached by Pete Cowan, a familiar name on the golfing scene.
Cowan spoke after his student was issued with a two-stroke penalty for throwing his club at Shinnecock Hills.
And the Englishman made it very clear that he thinks Niemann was treated unfairly, as quoted by Golf Channel.
“It’s arbitrary because they picked him out of a load of people who threw clubs yesterday and gave him a two-shot penalty,“ he said.
“It depends on whether you like him or you don’t like him; it’s two shots if you don’t like him, or it’s not two shots because he’s a decent guy or he hasn’t thrown it as far or whatever.
“So, you can’t do that. It’s either got to be two shots for throwing a club for everybody or not.”
Cowan certainly has a point.
The USGA’s lack of consistency will really frustrate Joaquin Niemann
There was one example of another player showing an outburst of anger, and he went unpunished.
Jon Rahm was seen kicking his driver down the fairway at Shinnecock Hills on Friday, yet he received no penalty.
Pete Cowan is spot on. If the rule is there, it simply has to be enforced regardless of which player has fallen foul of it.
Joaquin Niemann can consider himself really unlucky after receiving a two-stroke penalty at the US Open.
Can you imagine if he shoots a couple of rounds in the 60s over the weekend and loses by one or two strokes?
