PGA Fiasco

[albatross]

I want to be upset at PGA ........... but they clearly outlined the conditions before the tournament. I hate it for Johnson ..... but that's golf.

Not totally true. They did not outline that patrons would be standing in and obstructing a hazard at the time a shot was being played.

[ctyankee]

Tough break for Johnson, it is what it is. But if anyone says they would have known it was a bunker that Johnson was standing in, they are lying.

Sorry. I said "oh sh&t;" out loud as it happened and my wife asked me what I was swearing about and I told her that Johnson grounded the club in the hazard. But enough about me, ESPN reported that tour players watching the TV in the Whistling Straits clubhouse were commenting out loud telling Johnson throught the TV set to be careful ... so there you go.

[Chief Broom]

ESPN claims that Johnson's caddie put his bag down in the bunker. That's another two stroke penalty.

That's not a penalty. There has also been some talk about how DJ grounded his club twice in the hazard, but you only get penalized for that once per stroke made in the hazard.

I watched this yesterday and I didn't notice DJ grounding his club but I did think it was strange for him to be taking a couple of practice strokes while in the bunker. He didn't make contact so the swings weren't a rules violation, but I thought he was taking a chance with a penalty. Usually you see the pros take those swings outside the hazard just so they don't have to worry about a problem. So my initial reaction to what I was seeing on TV was that DJ's ball was in a hazard.

[shades9323]

I fully agree with you that DJ has to accept the ruling, but what I do not understand, is how the PGA officials would allow spectators to stand in the bunker during play. I know its the players responsibility to read the weekly local rules, and obviously DJ did not. I hope DJ comes back from this, the guy has a boat load of talent.

If he can come back from leading the U.S. Open going into the last round and carding a score in the 80's, he can come back from that.

[muggs]

DJ is going to win his share of Majors. The kid has sick game... But this one was really on his caddy. From what I've heard, the PGA made it clear that they should treat every such area as a bunker, and that there were over 1,200 bunkers on the course. So you have to error on the side of cation.

That said, if you're going to expect the players to treat that area as a bunker, you can't have the gallery walking through it. Period. I think that is really what made both DJ and his caddy to not even consider the fact they were in a bunker. His caddy set his bag down in the bunker as well...

[GolfBear]

Since every bunker really

Here's my take on this situation:

1. When a course has so many bunkers that you can't count them then everything that's not in the fairway is probably in a bunker 2. If that dirt patch was in play as a bunker then spectators should not be standing/walking in them. You don't see a lot of fans sitting in the church pews at Oakmont. 3. This course is a perfect example of why Pete Dye's designs aren't brilliant, they're just excessive. 4. If you hit the ball 60 yards offline and it winds up resting in the sand on a course with 1200+ bunkers, it's probably in a bunker. If there is any doubt, don't ground your club.

[elvis14]

A couple of thoughts on this:

1) Yes, DJ technically made a mistake
2) The application of the rule in this case made a mockery of the tournament
3) If you put a sign on a Bengal tiger that says "kitty cat", it's still a tiger and not a house cat. If you put a sign on a waste area that says "bunker".....
4) To make matters worse, the winner acted as though he had just won $2 on a scratch off when he won
5) I would hope that the PGA would either not play there again or do what they did the last time the tournament was played there and played bunkers as bunkers and waste areas as waste areas

I'm bummed mostly to enjoy watching the tournament all weekend to have it basically all screwed up at the end.

[CrazyXGolfer]

As much as I hate to say this 100% DJ fault.....

The ruling is 100% correct, but I believe he should have been penalised again becasue he did ground the club twice. Very unfortunate, as I would have loved to seen him win. But it is 100% his fault.

But I really do admire DJ, for just taking it in his stride and not making a fool of himself getting upset over it.

Good on you DJ you played great! Won't be long now and you will have a Major victory under your name!

[Harmonious]

Does anyone know whether Johnson's caddy is very experienced on tour? I was surprised that, after Johnson set up for his shot on 18, the caddy walked away from him and down toward the fairway and into the crowd. I can't imagine that Steve Williams would do that with Tiger. He would be all over the officials to move the crowd back (maybe punch a few bystanders, as well ).

In any case, if the caddy was on the ball, he would have told Johnson not to ground his club in that area, regardless of whether he thought it was a bunker or not. But the photos that Erik posted clearly show that it certainly was a bunker.

Seems both Johnson and his caddy were caught up in the moment and completely forgot the tournament rules, if in fact either of them were aware of them. It's the caddy's responsibility to "protect" his golfer from those things.

[albatross]

As much as I hate to say this 100% DJ fault.....

That's not the way the rule works. You don't get penalized twice for grounding the club twice before you take the shot. If he had left his shot in the bunker and then grounded it again before the next shot, it would have been another penalty.

[albatross]

Does anyone know whether Johnson's caddy is very experienced on tour? I was surprised that, after Johnson set up for his shot on 18, the caddy walked away from him and down toward the fairway and into the crowd. I can't imagine that Steve Williams would do that with Tiger. He would be all over the officials to move the crowd back (maybe punch a few bystanders, as well

I totally agree. Lol. It was almost comical the way they showed the caddy standing in the gallery waiting for Dustin to hit his shot. It almost looked like he should have a hot dog and a beer while watching. Bizarre. He should be looking for work today.

[Jay-Bird]

The only fiasco is DJ breaking the rules.

I thought the fiasco was hitting DRIVER off the at the 18th.

Everyone knows he hits the ball a mile. Great. But he needed to find the fairway. He needed to make a four. No need to risk anything by blasting a 300 yard drive into oblivion.

[pixel5]

In literal terms, everyone has to agree that the rules are the rules and players were told that all sand was to be considered a bunker. BUT if it was a bunker that he was playing out of, the marshals and officials should have CLEARED THE CROWD out of it. No one, including Johnson and the tournament officials treated the shot like it was out of a bunker. In fact, it seems like the only people that knew about it were the people that were waiting in the air-conditioned club house.

[Judah Ben-Hur]

A couple of thoughts on this:

You got that right about the winner and his emotions after making that putt. Hell, I've jumped up and down more when I finally got a toilet to flush.

About the only left on this tournament is picking up the garbage. Hogs!

[iacas]

BUT, and this is the point I can't get past. It is 100% irresponsible and UNFAIR (yes, unfair) for the PGA and course officials to allow a major championship venue to be setup in such a way that fans are standing in the hazard with a player as they hit their shot.

And here's where you're "100%" wrong on that: where else were the fans supposed to stand?

And the whole "well he hit it so far off the fairway- the spectators don't have anywhere else to stand"- Those are both weak arguments. If you are deeming something a hazard, fans shouldn't be standing in it if it's 500 yards out of play. Bottom Line.

It's not a weak argument. It's only weak in your eyes because you think DJ, the dope that he was, should not have been penalized. Rules are rules. You'd probably feel differently (though you'll say you won't) if it had been Kaymer grounding his club.

You do two obvious things in the case of a course like Whistling Straits. You either make the bunkers that are in the area where spectators are standing waste bunkers and not hazards, or you play the championship somewhere else where there is room for patrons to view the tournament without standing in hazards. Seems pretty simple.

You're missing option three, the most logical one: you deem them all hazards because they are and you let fans go like they did this year.

Fer chrissakes, it's not like his ball landed in someone's sand castle, foot print, etc. He had a good lie. All he had to do was not ground his club. He might have done that if he had read the rules sheet, which made it clear. DJ was the only player to foul up this rule all week, and he failed to learn from Appleby in 2004.

They listed on the rules sheet that there may be foot prints, tire tracks and heel marks from patrons but nowhere on that sheet did it say that patrons may be standing in the hazard with you as you play a shot.

WHy are people focusing on that? If there are foot prints and heel marks, how do you think they get there? From people standing in it. What's that matter? He could have moved people out as far as he wanted. He didn't.

That's not a penalty. There has also been some talk about how DJ grounded his club twice in the hazard, but you only get penalized for that once per stroke made in the hazard.

Since it's a separate act, I'm fairly certain it would be another penalty, actually. I think the PGA might have gotten that ruling wrong and he should have been penalized four strokes. There was a clear break between his two actions in which he addressed the "shaft of light" problem.

Here's my take on this situation:

There are "takes" but there are facts, too. A lot of people want to make this an opinion-based issue, when it's a fact-based issue in the end.

1. When a course has so many bunkers that you can't count them then everything that's not in the fairway is probably in a bunker

Unless it's in the rough. Or a water hazard. Or a putting green, the fairway, out of bounds, an obstruction, etc. Yeah, the same as any other golf course. But I get your point - WS had a lot of bunkers. Hence the PGA's written statement.

2. If that dirt patch was in play as a bunker then spectators should not be standing/walking in them. You don't see a lot of fans sitting in the church pews at Oakmont.

They're not 50 yards off the fairway. And it wasn't dirt - it was clearly sand. Look at the pictures.

3. This course is a perfect example of why Pete Dye's designs aren't brilliant, they're just excessive.

No argument here. We played the French Lick Dye course. He's gone 'round the bend and it may have started at Whistling Straits.

4. If you hit the ball 60 yards offline and it winds up resting in the sand on a course with 1200+ bunkers, it's probably in a bunker. If there is any doubt, don't ground your club.

Yep.

[ctyankee]

Fer chrissakes, it's not like his ball landed in someone's sand castle, foot print, etc. He had a good lie. All he had to do was not ground his club. He might have done that if he had read the rules sheet, which made it clear. DJ was the only player to foul up this rule all week, and he failed to learn from Appleby in 2004.

Agreed.

However, I have no problem with someone that feels that fans should not be on the course and certainly not standing in the hazard. I don't have a problem with it but if they want to change it, it's really simple, put down white stakes and call it O.B. and the problem is solved. This way fans can actually get close enough to see the darn players and there are no hazard issues to complain about.

[ghalfaire]

Yup it was DJ's fault. If he had any doubt in his mind if the sand trap was a hazard or not he could have ask the PGA rules official walking with his group. To his credit he said it was his fault and he should have read the rules sheet he received. I really feel bad for the guy and I would question the wisdom of allowing spectators to walk through a hazard (bet the PGA won't do that again), but it was DJ's fault.

[Elvisliveson]

In literal terms, everyone has to agree that the rules are the rules and players were told that all sand was to be considered a bunker. BUT if it was a bunker that he was playing out of, the marshals and officials should have CLEARED THE CROWD out of it. No one, including Johnson and the tournament officials treated the shot like it was out of a bunker. In fact, it seems like the only people that knew about it were the people that were waiting in the air-conditioned club house.

Well said. DJ should have read the rules sheet more carefully, but so too should the tournament officials on the scene, apparently.