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Yesterday, Dustin Johnson won his first major tournament…while being completely in the dark as to where he stood for the last two hours of play. Why? Well, the USGA didn't give Dustin Johnson a straight answer on whether or not he'd be given a one-stroke penalty after he supposedly caused his ball to move before draining a 6-foot par putt on the fifth.
Here's what happened.
While standing over the putt Dustin Johnson made two practice putts. As he went to address the ball, it moved ever so slightly, backwards. Johnson stepped back and insisted that he did not cause the ball to move. At the time the USGA official informed him that there was no penalty. However, DJ was approached on the 12th tee by another official and after some discussion was informed that the footage needed to be reviewed and that they would make their ruling after Johnson completes his round. Jeff Hall, the USGA's director of rules, said he had watched video of the incident and decided Johnson's actions "could have caused the ball to move", and the one-stroke penalty was upheld.
Fellow prominent golfers took to Twitter to express their anger.
Rory McIlroy was one of the most vocal, describing the ruling and confusion a “farce”.
2015 Masters Champion, Jordan Spieth also had some things to say.
Luke Donald pointed out on Twitter that the greens are to blame for any movement.
In the end the penalty became a moot point as Dustin Johnson won by 3 shots. However, it didn’t stop legendary Ernie Els from condemning the USGA.
This win moves Dustin Johnson up in the world rankings to number 3.
Published by Jordan Trantham
7 years ago 
