Dustin Johnson turned his pencil upside down and began erasing his scorecard. He'd already given one major championship away. He never got a chance to finish this one.
Article Source: NBC Sports
from:NBC SportsRules violation KO's Johnson from PGA playoff
Seeded on Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:39 PM EDT (NBC Sports)
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If it had been Tiger, they would not have called a penalty.
The PGA organization has lost 50 Million dollars in net worth (if not more) in the past fiscal year, creates too many members for the green grass golf industry, is losing facilities with PGA Affiliation, has become a "revolving door" membership, whose own PGA officers do not know the staff cost to operate the PGA, showed its incompetence in all glory in the recent PGA Championship - the PGA was unable to protect the integrity of the design of the golf course for the PGA Championship and keep the gallery out of the bunkers, costing a contestant a opportunity to win the PGA.
PGA = Incompetent!
Posted on PGA Links!
by PGA Life Member
That call was bull@!$%#. First, how can it be ruled a hazard, ie a bunker, when:
1) Thousands of people were standing in it EVERyDAY. I have gone to hundreds of PGA events and it is absolutely forbidden to stand in bunkers, both greenside and fairway.
2) Where were the rakes? If this was ruled a bunker, which it was, where were the rakes, the most evident sign that it is, in fact a bunker?
Does this mean that I am now allowed to park my golf cart in fairway bunkers given that the PGA endorsed people to stand in them?
tny - you are an idiot - it was "cool" to hate Tiger for 6 months or so, but now it is just old. He is a non-factor.
OMG msnbc finally made it through a whole golf article without mentioning t.w.
I'm not a big golf fan, but occasionally I watch the final rounds on TV for a bit, etc. I didn't watch the end, and I chose to read this article.
What kinda of a reporter uses so much jargon and then never quickly defines what it means? Granted, the majority of those who'll read this are golf-savvy. But, you don't write for 5% of the population as an author. WTF does "grounding your club" mean? Damn it. The phrase is used 5-6x times and NEVER is there a quick note as to what it means!!!!! Does it mean "landing your ball in a bunker" or literally slamming your club into the ground during a swing?
To me, the fact the phrase "grounding his club" so damn often, suggests to me I need to know WTF it means in the world of golf. I'm headed to google now to figure it out. Why bother reading an article in the future?
Grounding your club means letting the club touch the ground.
This was the second time this decade, I believe, that the PGA Championship, being held at Whistling Straits, has had problems with rulings regarding bunkers. Maybe the PGA should reconsider holding anymore majors tournaments there.
Tiger woods has had penalties called on him too! BS on the TW bias... One thing about golf, if there is a violation, it will be called...either by a fellow competitor, or by the cameramen/gallery/staff.
That is why they NEVER beef over violations. It may be unfair, but these guys play by the rules and the rules are very clear. They may be pissed, but they dont whine...they blame themselves.
God what a helluva golf course, no?
For the love of god, can the writer of this article get her facts straight??!!??!!
The following paragraph should not exist in this article.
The 26-year-old was the third-round leader at the U.S. Open, only to have a complete meltdown Sunday and shoot 82. It was the highest score in the U.S. Open by a 54-hole leader since Fred McLeod shot 83 at Chicago Golf Club in 1911. It was also Johnson's worst score as a professional.
This paragraph is about Watney not Johnson!! AND Watney shot an 81 NOT 82.
The site was not a bunker and if it was, what were all the fans doing standing in this grass free bit of land. With the prestige and money involved here, it was not a good ruling and does much to harm GOLF. With the absent WOODS, why bother watching. There was nothing on TV, so I watched bacause it was a major. Then you see this call and you wonder why anyone watches it at all.
There is obviously a problem here, and although they went by the rules, this is something that needs better clarification.
That said, I would personally like to thank Johnson for his sportsmanship. This is what kids need to see - crap happens but you drive on to your next challenge. I bet Johnson will read the sheets in the clubhouse from here out.
(I would have loved to see if this had been Tiger Woods. We all know he would have been stomping his feet and throwing his clubs like a 2 year old if this had been him!)
At least he handled it with class and sportsmanship...
No finger pointing, no blame, not going off
Unlike most people.
The PGA issued local rule sheet refers to "All areas ... designed and built as sand bunkers..." will be considered bunkers even if there are footprints, wheel tracks, etc. in evidence. The Chair of the Rules Committee stated on a Golf Channel interview after the event that the rule meant that all sandy areas on the Whistling Straits premises were to be considered bunkers, except for cart paths. Dustin Johnson's ball came to rest on a sandy area atop some grass. I don't think anyone could reasonably determine that the ball rested in an area "designed and built" as a bunker. As for the 'all sandy areas' comment, taken literally that would mean a divot in the middle of a fairway filled with sand would be considered a bunker.
The 2015 Ryder Cup is scheduled for Whistling Strait. I would hope that after this recent fiasco and a similar one during the 2004 PGA at this same course that the Ryder Cup committee would reconsider Whistling Strait as its 2015 venue. Play the Ryder Cup on a golf course and not on a Pete Dye ego driven mishmash.
Seems like the Commitee forgot to read the rules of golf and ran an event without adhering to rule 33-2,a(iv) and 33-1 Under Waiving,Rule "The Committee has no power to waive a golf rule" in the rules of golf. When the PGA decided not to follow the rule defining integral parts of the course accurately they broke the rules.
Name another MAJOR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP where the TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE:
Defines areas as bunkers then allows fans to walk in them, allows kids to build sand castles in them, allows fans to put folding chairs in them, allows fans to stand in one while a contender plays out of it (to the point that neither he, nor his caddie, nor the announcers even know that he was in a bunker).
If The PGA can't choose a "gallery manageable" venue to host their MAJOR golf event on, without having to "waive" the rules of golf (committee's responsibilty to define the course properly) - that is the PGA's fault and reflects on all Members who carry the initials PGA.
While the two stroke penalty for grounding his club (violation of Rule 13-4) was unfortunate, it was correct. What has been missed in all the hoopla is that Dustin Johnson appears to have also violated Rule 14-2 (Assistance) when he "asked" the fans to move over and block the sun while he was hitting his shot (yes the same shot out of the bunker on 18). If he did violate Rule 14-2, then he should have received an additional two stroke penalty. (Since the competition is now closed, imposition of the penalty is moot, but it is still an interesting issue.)
This is 100% the Caddie's fault. He is the one person who is supposed to know you, the course, the bounces and keep you focused but number 1, he needs to understand the rules of the course. It was pressure time; another close one at another Major, and your Caddie should be taking care of the weird rules, so you can focus on nerves and the next shot.
Caddie lost the Major or at least a share of extra holes.