2010 PGA Championship

[Range King]

Great event ... much drama, good golf and excitement!

That should end the discussion right there. DJ did not know the rule, and didn't bother to ask the rules guy. That's certainly unfortunate, but can't be helped.

Congratulations, Martin Kaymer! Well played!

[Harmonious]

And did anyone note that neither of the play-off players have traditional swings.

Boy, I sure liked Kaymer's swing. Don't think it's non-traditional at all. Haven't looked at it on slo-mo video but he sure seems to keep the club on plane and under control. Bubba on the other hand.....hits it far.

[Tugglife2]

Where is Bubba now in the Ryder Cup points standings?

[kris]

crazy ending there. i'm not sure why all the fuss over what happened to DJ on 18 though. as soon as they showed where his ball was, i immediately noted to everyone in the room that he had found the sand. it was fairly obvious to me when i first saw it. bottom line is, on this course he should have known that there was a damn good chance that any ground with a bunch of sand might be a bunker. he made a mistake. really unfortunate, and I feel bad for the guy, but he made a mistake.

anyhow, I was rooting for Bubba but don't have anything against Kaymer. nice win for him.

[Tiger Spuds]

Where is Bubba now in the Ryder Cup points standings?

Playing, he's 3rd in the standings.

[jcorfive]

Where is Bubba now in the Ryder Cup points standings?

I remember a commentator during the playoff saying that Bubba would make it with either a win or a loss.

[Cornbread]

Inexperience. Johnston needs to hire a longtime knowledgble caddy who will remind him of things need needs to know. Had this been Elkington, or another older player it would have never happened.

[Cornbread]

Johnson and his Caddy should have also insured that the crowd was removed futher back than they were. That too would have possibly allowed them to see where they actually were. In a trap.

And a side note... Personally I think many of these golf fans act like drunken idiots... all the more reason to move them away.

[jamo]

Johnson and his Caddy should have also insured that the crowd was removed futher back than they were. That too would have possibly allowed them to see where they actually were. In a trap.

That seemed like a big issue this week (to me). Tiger had a shot with a wood either yesterday or today from the rough with the ball above his feet and the fans were literally about 3 feet from his line, mostly on his right. As far offline as he hit his tee shot, i was actually scared for those people who were standing so close.

There was a similar issue with his cart path shot yesterday.

[iacas]

My only problem with the ruling was that yea, his ball was near a bunker, but the area in which his ball was at rest looked to be outside the margin of the bunker and an area where sand had been pushed out of the bunker - it was literally a 1x1 foot area of sand connected to the "bunker".

Yeah, within the margin of the bunker.

The rules official who was interviewed on CBS (the same one who made the ruling? Does anyone know?) said that "anything with sand is a bunker". That's not the Rules of Golf definition, obviously, but that's what he said. And apparently what the ruling what based on.

That is the Rules of Golf. The PGA said that all bunkers are going to be played as bunkers (not waste areas).

That should end the discussion right there.

Word. And...

Congratulations, Martin Kaymer! Well played!

Word.

Boy, I sure liked Kaymer's swing. Don't think it's non-traditional at all. Haven't looked at it on slo-mo video but he sure seems to keep the club on plane and under control. Bubba on the other hand.....hits it far.

I'm fairly certain he hits a pretty big pull-cut. I could be wrong but his club appears to get outside a bit and go hard left through impact (more left than "deep" i.e. on plane).

[jlh1508]

There needs to be a seperation from the letter of the rule and the heart of the rule. Yes he violated the letter, but not the heart

[Tiger Spuds]

I'm fairly certain he hits a pretty big pull-cut. I could be wrong but his club appears to get outside a bit and go hard left through impact (more left than "deep" i.e. on plane).

Indeed.Witnessed it first hand a few weeks ago and it seemed exactly that way to me.

[enis750]

what a total dissapointment........not the way it SHOULD hve ended....Kymer??? really....who cares.....

i understand the penalty on DJ, but still think its a load of BS

would have LOVED to see Dustin OR Bubba win it

IMO Kymer is a pansy
nice chip out of the rough AFTER Bubba goes in the drink you coward
switch the order of those two shots, and i 100% guarantee Bubba hits the same shot
yea i know play to win, but play w some balls

he didnt deserve to win

[TD22057]

I agree he should have penalized - but I also don't think the PGA did the right thing w/ that rule for the tournament. They basically said "show prints and tire tracks" are in the bunkers and they said they will not be raked each morning (the rules quote said bunkers in the ropes are raked each day). So they are saying this is an area that will have people walking through it AND vehicle traffic AND they won't be maintained each day. If that's not the definition of a waste area, I don't know what is.

On the flip side, Johnson basically admitted he and his caddy never read the rules sheet at all which is mind boggling to me...

[Chilli Dipper]

Nothing's going to change what happened to Dustin Johnson today. My concern (and what should be the PGA of America's concern as well) is the fact that Whistling Straits will host the PGA Championship again in five years' time, and the Ryder Cup five years after that. I find it ridiculous that a bunker outside the ropes, that has been beaten down by spectator traffic and hospitality vehicles all week, is treated the same way as a bunker that has been maintained in pristine condition throughout the tournament. I understand the rules, and the penalty assessed to Johnson's final score was ultimately a just one. The point is, if Whistling Straits is going to be a frequent host of major championships in the years to come, proper steps should be made to ensure that such a fiasco doesn't happen again.

The PGA will be held at Kiawah in 2012. The Ocean Course is also a Pete Dye design, and rough basically doesn't exist on the property; fairways are bordered by vast expanses of sand. For championship play at Kiawah, local rules dictate that all sand on the course are treated as waste areas. It is not necessary to declare all bunkers at Whistling Straits waste areas, but with all spectator areas cordoned off from the rest of the course, it would be reasonable for a local rule to be bestowed during future PGA-sanctioned events, such as this:

The committee rules that all bunkers located inside spectator areas, as defined by the placement of containment ropes, to be designated as through the green for the duration of the tournament. Players shall be allowed to ground their club, test conditions, and remove loose impediments without penalty.

[Tiger Spuds]

what a total dissapointment........not the way it SHOULD hve ended....Kymer??? really....who cares.....

Oh come on, Martin Kaymer is a great player.Several high - profile wins at the age of 25.. he's going to be around at the top level for a long time.

[Chilli Dipper]

Oh come on, Martin Kaymer is a

Kaymer is a great player. He just never plays in America, other than the majors and World Golf Championships. His relative absence from the American golf scene makes it hard for American fans to appreciate him.

[iacas]

IMO Kymer is a pansy

He left himself like 190 in. I think in some ways it'd be a bigger pansy shot to play two 130-yard shots than to blast out and leave yourself 190 to a hole tucked just over the front of a 10-foot-tall cliff a pace off the green surface.

In other words, he played like a man on 17 with that tee shot and putt and he still had to hit a 190-yard shot over trouble to a pin tucked just over the trouble and just past a cliff. Plenty of balls if you ask me.

I agree he should have penalized - but I also don't think the PGA did the right thing w/ that rule for the tournament. They basically said "show prints and tire tracks" are in the bunkers and they said they will not be raked each morning (the rules quote said bunkers in the ropes are raked each day). So they are saying this is an area that will have people walking through it AND vehicle traffic AND they won't be maintained each day.

So let me pose this question: why should a player who misses a fairway by 50 yards get the same lie (i.e. "raked") as one who misses by two yards? Shouldn't there perhaps be a stiffer penalty for missing by 50 yards?

And don't forget, the PGA did allow the removal of stones from bunkers this week. As it was, the lie was pretty darn good. He didn't complain about the lie. He should have not grounded his club. Nick Watney said nobody looks at the rules sheets - maybe they should. Ignorance is not an excuse. They're playing for a lot of money.