Jon Rahm’s Temper Puts Golf’s New Conduct Rule in the Spotlight at the 2026 Open Championship

July 17, 2026, 3:47 p.m. ET

What Happened?

Imagine you’re playing a game, you get really mad, and you throw your toy on the ground. That’s kind of what happened in golf!

• Jon Rahm is a professional golfer.
• At the 2026 Open Championship (a big, important golf tournament), he got angry.
• On the 15th hole during Friday’s second round at Royal Birkdale, he hit a bad shot.
• He slammed his six-iron (a type of golf club) into the grass after the bad shot.
• His ball went way left of the green (the nice short grass where you want to land the ball).
• The club bounced on the ground several times as he walked away feeling disgusted.

Because of this, tournament rules officials gave him a warning.

Important: Rahm got a warning for slamming his club after a poor shot on hole 15. This happened near the end of the Friday, July 17 round.

The New Conduct Policy (Explained Simply)

This year, golf introduced a stricter rule about how players should behave.

According to the rule:

• If a player (or the person carrying their clubs, called a caddie) acts in a way that is really not okay for golf’s friendly and fair spirit (based on Rule 1.2b), then the Chief Referee (the head rule person) and Championship Director (the person running the event) can decide on a punishment.
• They look at:
  • How often it happens
  • How much it affects others
  • If it was on purpose
  • How bad it was
• The punishment can be:
  • Two extra strokes added to their score (a two-stroke penalty)
  • Or even being kicked out (disqualification)

How Rahm Found Out

A person named Smylie Kaufman used to be a golfer and now talks about golf on TV. He said on the USA Sports broadcast:

• When Rahm’s group got to the 17th green (the area with the hole), a rules official came over.
• The official told Rahm he had an official "code of conduct warning" for what he did with the club on hole 15.

Also, an R&A rules official (the group that runs the Open) said earlier on TV:

• The tournament can warn Rahm, give him two penalty strokes, or disqualify him if his behavior broke the policy.
• But they didn’t say specifically if Rahm would be reviewed or punished more during Friday’s round.

Important: The tournament has the power to warn, penalize, or disqualify Rahm under the new policy, but no extra punishment was announced yet.

Other Similar Situations

Rahm isn’t the only one this rule has touched:

• Sergio Garcia got a warning at the 2026 Masters (another big tournament) under this new majors policy.
• Joaquin Niemann got a 2-stroke penalty at the U.S. Open last month for throwing his club after two bad tee shots.

How Did Rahm Do After?

Even though Rahm messed up on hole 15 and got a bogey (one over the best score for that hole):

1. He hit two birdies (one under the best score) right after.
2. He finished Round 2 at 4-under par (four better than the standard total).
3. If he wins the Claret Jug (the trophy for the Open Championship) this weekend, people might remember the lucky break he got when his anger didn’t cost him more.

Summary

Jon Rahm slammed his golf club in frustration at the 2026 Open Championship and got a conduct warning under golf’s new behavior rule. The rule lets officials add penalties or kick players out for very bad behavior. Rahm was warned but not penalized further, played well after, and is still in the running to win. Other golfers have faced warnings or penalties under the same policy this year.

FAQ

Q: What is the Open Championship?
A: It’s a major golf tournament held in the UK, also called the British Open. The winner gets a trophy called the Claret Jug.

Q: What is a six-iron?
A: It’s a type of golf club used to hit the ball a medium distance. Rahm used it on hole 15.

Q: What does "two-stroke penalty" mean?
A: It means two extra shots are added to a player’s score, which makes their total worse.

Q: Why did Rahm only get a warning and not a penalty?
A: Officials decided his action got a warning for now. The rule lets them choose based on how bad it was, and no further punishment was announced.

Q: Who gives the punishments under the new rule?
A: The Chief Referee and Championship Director talk together and decide what to do.