Joaquin Niemann reaches for grandmother analogy when asked about costly U.S. Open penalty

Joaquin Niemann turned to an unusual grandmother analogy when asked to reflect on what might have been at the U.S. Open after a week that featured both controversy and the best major championship finish of his career.

The LIV Golf star, who later admitted he felt he had been "made an example of" after becoming the first player to receive a two-shot penalty in a major championship for throwing a club, was asked whether he had considered how differently the tournament could have unfolded without the costly punishment.

Niemann's response was succinct.

"If my grandmother had tires, she'd be a car."

The Chilean's answer brought an end to any discussion about hypothetical outcomes after he recovered from an opening-round setback to finish tied seventh on one-over par at Shinnecock Hills, his best result in 28 major championship appearances.

During his post-tournament press conference, Niemann was asked whether he believed tournament officials had singled him out when they imposed a two-shot penalty under Rule 1.2b for serious misconduct.

"To be honest, yes," Niemann replied.

"I was not trying to offend anyone. It was more something kind of like against me. I was frustrated. I had my expectations, which are always super high."

The incident occurred during a disastrous sixth hole in the opening round when Niemann hit two tee shots out of bounds before eventually carding a nine. 

Officials later added two penalty strokes after ruling he had thrown his gap wedge in frustration, turning the score into an 11 and changing his opening-round 76 into a 78.

While Niemann accepted responsibility for his actions, he said the moment was fuelled by frustration rather than any intention to offend.

"I'm not happy doing that. I'm not proud about throwing a golf club," he said.

"I get I deserve it in a way; I don't know. But there's nothing I can do. I feel like I learned from it."

The ruling became one of the biggest talking points of the 2026 U.S. Open, with Niemann's coach Pete Cowen questioning whether similar behaviour from other players had gone unpunished.

Video footage showed Jon Rahm kicking his driver multiple times in round two, but going unpenalized for his actions. 

Despite the setback, Niemann responded impressively, firing a second-round 65 to make the cut before closing with rounds of 72 and 66 to secure a share of seventh place.

The finish left him five shots behind champion Wyndham Clark, who etched his name on the U.S. Open for a second time following his first at Los Angeles CC in 2023.