12/18/24
June 21, 2016
Dustin Johnson Won U.S. Open Without Knowing What His Score Would Be: The U.S. Open was finished Sunday without leader Dustin Johnson knowing if he'd be penalized a stroke. After his ball moved as he was preparing to putt on the fifth hole, a rules official told him on the 12th he might be penalized a stroke -- but a decision wouldn't be made until after the round. "Upon reflection, we regret the distraction caused by our decision to wait until the end of the round to decide on the ruling," the USGA said. "This created unnecessary ambiguity for Dustin and the other players, as well as spectators on site, and those watching and listening on television and digital channels." Jordan Speith called the situation a joke on Twitter.
If a golf tournament can penalize a player during a match after getting an email from a viewer, what's the delay here?
posted by rcade at 04:16 PM on June 21, 2016
It was true amateur hour stuff by the USGA. I can't imagine how the nightmare scenario (DJ ahead by a stroke, or tied, after the final hole) could possibly be handled without a problem. They lucked out that nothing happened this time.
I don't even care about the actual ruling. Just make a decision in a timely fashion so that everyone understands where they stand with regards to the leaderboard.