SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann played a remarkably good round at the 126th U.S. Open 2026 at Shinnecock Hills, while golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm will miss the weekend. Niemann carded five birdies on his first six holes in Round 2, posting a 5-under 65, which brought him back into contention. Under normal circumstances, this would be an outstanding round. However, given what preceded it, it's something entirely special.
"Everything clicked," said Niemann, who is currently T46 and ten strokes behind the lead. "I hit great tee shots. I went out with a pretty aggressive mindset. Sometimes, especially in these tournaments, that can backfire, but this time it worked."
On Thursday evening, the Torque GC Captain took an 11 on the par-4 sixth hole – his 15th hole of the first round. He hit two tee shots out of bounds before further compounding the damage with a club toss, which the USGA deemed a two-stroke penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. He finished his remaining three holes on Friday morning, signed his scorecard, and was informed of the penalty shortly after. He had 37 minutes before he had to tee off again. "Yeah, it was tough," Niemann said. "I probably needed 30 minutes to get over it, then two minutes to hit some tee shots, make two putts, and then go out."
