Johnson duly celebrated with his toddler son Tatum running onto the green alongside his fiancee Paulina Gretsky – but only after officials reviewed apotentially costly fifth hole green address. As Johnson lined up his par putt, the ball moved ever so slightly.
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The players in contention did not know where they stood; Johnson did not know what might happen.
Johnson alerted a rules official on the fifth hole that his ball moved as he was getting ready to putt.
However, Johnson showed no tension and ended at five-under, which after the tournament ended was made four-under with a penalty.
Up by four when he stepped onto the first tee, Lowry settled for a share of second after a 6-over 76 and a four-round total of 1-under 279, three shots back behind Dustin Johnson. “They could possibly penalize him, but if you’re going to do that, then they should have penalized him and let him get on with the job”.
The possibility of a penalty was the talk of the tournament, with other players weighing in on social media, including the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods, all of whom criticized the United States Golf Association for its handling of the matter. Feels well deserved. I’ve had a lot of opportunities that I didn’t quite get it done.
“Upon reflection, we regret the distraction caused by our decision to wait until the end of the round to decide on the ruling”, Monday’s statement read.
While it is common for penalties to be assessed at the completion of a round, it is not always common for USGA rules officials to go out to the course to inform a player of a potential violation. “We asked if there was some other reason the ball could have moved”. The golfer was approached on the 12th hole and told they would review the incident after the round – leaving in doubt if he would or would not be penalized.
Golfing great Jack Nicklaus, speaking during Fox TV coverage of the final round, was among many who criticised the USGA.
“The ball moved. When we evaluated the video and discussed it with Dustin, we were comfortable that his actions near the ball were what caused the golf ball to move, and as a result he was penalised one stroke”.
“We’re single figure odds he wins his first Major before McIlroy snatches his next one”. That means that even compared to the second-best driver of the week, Johnson gained almost four shots over four rounds. The 31-year-old insisted he hadn’t caused the ball to move, which would’ve incurred a penalty, and playing partner Lee Westwood also absolved the American of any blame.
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“”When I’m in that position again – and I know I will be – I’ll handle it probably a little bit better.””.
