The USGA warned they made a ‘really dangerous’ decision following the first round of the US Open
· Yahoo Sports
The USGA has been told that it has strayed into dangerous territory by penalising Joaquin Niemann for throwing a club during the first round of the US Open.
Niemann deserves enormous credit for making the cut at the third major of the year. His performance was all the more impressive because he made an 11 on one hole during his opening round in Southampton.
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On the par four sixth hole, Niemann ended up hitting two balls out of bounds. He was subsequently handed a two-shot penalty having thrown his club and lost his temper.
It is a new rule that led to Niemann being reprimanded. However, it is difficult to judge whether it was a fair decision or not given that the incident was not caught on camera.
And that perhaps poses a problem.
The USGA have been criticised after Joaquin Niemann received a penalty at the US Open
Many will remember Sergio Garcia being warned at The Masters after smashing his driver and damaging the second tee during the final round at Augusta National.
Garcia avoided a stronger punishment on that occasion.
And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner suggested that the USGA have created an issue for themselves by making an example of his fellow LIV Golf star at Shinnecock.
“It also should be noted that we don’t know exactly what happened on the sixth tee. There is no video evidence of anything. We know he threw his golf club. It’s pretty shocking [that there’s no video], it was very late in the day. The sun was going down. They were just finishing play yesterday afternoon. So I guess it’s understandable,” Hoggard said.
“Based on the limited information that we do know, that he threw his club, whatever, 50 yards, this seems highhanded. It seems excessive. It seems as if they were trying to make an example out of him. Because you go back, we did have video evidence of what Sergio did at The Masters, and I would suggest anyone who’s listening right now, pull up a second screen and Google it and take a look at it yourself. That was vicious. It was petulant. It was childish. And yet, somehow, that just got a warning from the one organisation you would think would be the most highhanded of all of them. You would think they would be the ones that would start clutching the pearls when it came to player behaviour and be the first to dole out a two-stroke penalty. And yet, Sergio got the warning, Joaquin Niemann, for whatever it is he did, again, we’re not 100 per cent sure, this seems excessive.”
Photo by Warren Little/Getty ImagesLavner added: “The Athletic, our friend Gabby Herzig, reported that a volunteer, who was witness to this account, said that Joaquin Niemann was kicking sort of the white flags that the spotters used to identify where the golf ball is, also kicking the sand, had left his club and actually only received it after an officer who was walking alongside the group, retrieved it for him and brought it to him. Even with those additional details, and again, Joaquin Niemann couldn’t dispute it necessarily because there was no other video evidence, it was basically one person’s account of the matter, even with that, two shots seems like way too penal a punishment for Joaquin Niemann.
“And my biggest issue is that the rules of golf are supposed to be applied fairly and consistently. And even though this is a well intentioned rule, that you’re wanting to crack down on bad behaviour among players inside the ropes, there’s no way that this can be applied, fairly and consistently. It’s arbitrary by its very nature. Some of these are going to go viral. Some of these are going to be done anonymously. Some of these are gonna be a 25 yard club toss. Some of them are going to be a 50 yard club toss. Some of them are just being very tame club toss, but okay, they’re also going to be accompanied by a string of F-bombs. When you look at the rule and how it’s written, quote, ‘unacceptable language, and golf course, or club abuse’ are all folded in here.
“It’s sort of akin to a technical foul in the NBA, where if a ref has a quick hook, and you might, you might get teed up and that’s not going to be necessarily consistent from game to game, week to week, month to month. But this, I think, is a really dangerous precedent for the USGA to set, because there is no way that you can apply this fairly consistently to all 156 players in the field.”
A lack of consistency already on show at the US Open
Lavner is right to call for consistency. It is absolutely not fair if Niemann receives a two-shot penalty if another player escapes punishment for a club throw.
Jon Rahm was seen kicking his driver off one tee. Admittedly, it was petulant rather than aggressive, but it still was not a good look when you consider that the Spaniard is one of the best players in the world and a former champion of the event.
Similarly, many will be wondering what Niemann could have really done that was so bad when Garcia avoided the same punishment at Augusta National.
Players should be able to show emotion on the golf course. But the governing bodies should also establish a clear line that completely removes interpretation from the rule.