Oh My Lord, if this "grounding club in waste bunker" happens...

[Ulrich Mayring]

Sheesh, Johnson hit it outside the ropes - should be glad the ball ended up in a trampled down area and he gets a playable lie. He got a fortunate break and didn't capitalise on it.

But what do you make of this: Martin Kaymer hits the championship-deciding shot to the 18th green in the playoff and a spectator clicks his camera in his backswing. Then, after Kaymer stopped the swing and regrouped, he hit the shot and in mid-flight someone yells "in the water".

That is what I would be concerned about as far as "growing the game" goes. Not about the winner of a major, who is just 25 years old, but has already achieved more than all but a handful of American players, but apparently is lesser known than two dozens of Americans, who have won maybe one or two tournaments. There's nothing wrong with this major winner, he had it coming to him for some time.

Ulrich

[Emil Weber]

Ulrich, don't forget the people leaving the stands during the presentation...

[Brent Hutto]

When Jack was that age there weren't there occasionally people yelling "Fat Boy" at him?

[Steve Kline]

The philosophy of declaring all sand to be bunkers is a poor one

They didn't.  They declared all bunkers to be bunkers. 

Not quite that either. They declared all areas BUILT as bunkers to be played as bunkers (hazards). How are players supposed to know which of these sand areas was designed to be a bunker? Or are they to assume they're all bunkers? I wouldn't assume that.

That is true.  But as I wrote earlier, I think that the fact there was sand there, there was a bunker lip, and it was located on the course yardage book/layout, would be an indication that it was a built bunker.   

Having said that, Johnson didn't have to decide whether it was a bunker or not, he just had to assume that it may have been a bunker and asked for clarification.

I think Shivas is actually right.  i am sure at some stage he thought about it, but wit hso many thoughts going through his mind, it probably wasn't a clear thought.  But that is just speculation and I wouldn't declare him a liar. 

So he decided early on (during his practice swings) that it was a bunker but later he said "Screw it. I need to hit a good shot so I'm going to ground my club." Give me a break guys. The man got caught up in the heat of the moment and did something really, really unfortunate. I don't know how many of you have played any high-level competitive golf but I can tell you your brain and heart start going really, really fast. I can totally see how a player would do this whether he had read the rule sheet or not. As I was watching on TV it didn't even cross my mind that he had grounded his club in the bunker. I was thinking that I couldn't believe he was hitting a long iron because it didn't look like it would get over the mound in front of and that someone in the gallery was going to get killed when he didn't pull the shot off (I am amazed someone has not been seriously hurt or worse yet when lining a pro's shot like that).


It is ultimately his fault. But, there is no denying the course, the PGA, the rules official, and the caddy contributed to the blunder. I said it before - there have been two majors at the course and both times this has happened to a player. One time it definitely kept the player out of a playoff and the other it very well might have.

[Tom Zeni]

 If I believe my eyes, I see a bunker lip further up the hill, but not where the ball was. It was flat. Which begs the question.... when is the bunker no longer a bunker?

Is hitting off sand constitute a bunker on a shore course? If there is sand adjacent to a bunker, does that constitute being part of that bunker, or another nearby bunker? If you are over the wall on the 18th of Pebble, and down on the beach, are you in a bunker?

Bunkers need to be clearly defined. If you have 1,200 of them, and want them all in play, they need to be defined on the course, and not only on the rule sheet. If there is a lateral water hazard on the 11th hole, as stated on the rule sheet, is not the lateral hazard defined on the course?

Regardless, from watching that shot time and again from behind, and the photo of the crowd gathered in and around the bunker, I thought the ball was on sand but outside that particular bunker.

Also, you need to live with the decision from the local rule, but that doesn't make the rule a good rule.

[rboyce]

Mr. Boyce. Fine examples all. Except for one thing. In each case the golfer checked with a rules official before proceeding! Dustin is the one with no horse sense! All he had to do was ask a rules official. I bet he does next time.

This is the "covery my butt" rules official approach. The reason DJ didn't ask the question is because in his mind the situation didn't call for questioning. Just as an official can't ask a player what they're going to do at every moment, a player can't ask the official if some bizzare rule applies to every action they take.

DJ was in a swarm of humanity that blocked out any evidence that he was in a bunker. He proceeded accordingly. The confluence of events that includes lack of crowd control, silly cosmetic bunkering, a local rule that contradicts one of the architects primary design characteristics, a player who is used to sandy surfaces in the rough, etc etc is what trapped DJ into a lost chance at a major.

[Tim Pitner]

But what do you make of this: Martin Kaymer hits the championship-deciding shot to the 18th green in the playoff and a spectator clicks his camera in his backswing. Then, after Kaymer stopped the swing and regrouped, he hit the shot and in mid-flight someone yells "in the water".

That is what I would be concerned about as far as "growing the game" goes. Not about the winner of a major, who is just 25 years old, but has already achieved more than all but a handful of American players, but apparently is lesser known than two dozens of Americans, who have won maybe one or two tournaments. There's nothing wrong with this major winner, he had it coming to him for some time.

Ulrich, not very sporting, obviously.  But, lest you paint with too broad of a brush, there are plenty of Americans who follow world golf, and the European Tour in particular, who are quite familiar with Kaymer.  Unfortunately, there probably weren't too many at the 18th hole at Whistling Straits, after a long Sunday (and more time to consume beer) and after the Johnson fiasco, which CBS did everything in their power to play up as some sort of scandal.  People were not at their most hospitable to the young German. 

[Anthony Butler]

Mr. Boyce. Fine examples all. Except for one thing. In each case the golfer checked with a rules official before proceeding! Dustin is the one with no horse sense! All he had to do was ask a rules official. I bet he does next time.

This is the "covery my butt" rules official approach. The reason DJ didn't ask the question is because in his mind the situation didn't call for questioning. Just as an official can't ask a player what they're going to do at every moment, a player can't ask the official if some bizzare rule applies to every action they take.

DJ was in a swarm of humanity that blocked out any evidence that he was in a bunker. He proceeded accordingly. The confluence of events that includes lack of crowd control, silly cosmetic bunkering, a local rule that contradicts one of the architects primary design characteristics, a player who is used to sandy surfaces in the rough, etc etc is what trapped DJ into a lost chance at a major.

Steve Kline and Rboyce have summarized the situation very neatly. Jay Flemma also does a good job of defining everyone's role in his online article (with a quote from golf's most beloved figure to boot) http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/dustin_johnson_meet_roberto_divicenzo

If the PGA of America creates and distributes up a memo defining all bunkers as hazards, they obligate themselves to maintain all bunkers as bunkers during the course of the competition.

They failed in that simple task.

But, as they will remind you, they distributed the f__k out of that memo.

[Chris_Blakely]

Another 2010 Major champion with little personality and  no name recognition from a country that barely exists in the golf map that does nothing to help revive the game of golf. Justice is served and as much as i would have like to see Bubba win I derive a certain satisfaction from that. At least Louie has a gap tooth grin to distinguish from " who were those guys"

WHAT?

You have got to be kidding me.

LITTLE PERSONALITY? THAT IS JUST LAUGHABLE; YOU DONT KNOW HIM AT ALL. My god you havent even met Martin He is a GREAT, kind young man who is calm on the golf course (he would be the LAST golfer to throw a club, don't you guys hate that about Tiger?). He is a deserving winner, with ambition and passion for the game, he practices so hard and just didn't know what to say at the presentation. btw his mother died two years ago from cancer.

NO NAME??? Martin Kaymer was ranked 13th in the world before heading into the tournament (now 5th), has won 5 times on the european tour in not even 4 years, is a sure ryder cup player and you say no name? Thats because some of you americans simply dont care what goes on in other countries, YES there are golfers from everywhere around the world that can play, especially as he had already been in the World Top 10 before!

And a country that barely exists on the golf map, doesn't revive the game of golf? That is TOO bad no American won, the 2010 Pga Championship may not revive the game in the US (sorry you don't know another country, oh sorry, maybe you have heard about scotland...), but it will DEFINITELY do so in this little 82-million people country called Germany, where the game is growing as fast as nowhere in Europe, where there are over 700 golf courses and the country is smaller than most of your states.

"Who where those guys" you better remember his name (are you even a golfer, a shame you hadn't known the name before), because he will certainly continue to play well, which is what you might want to expect from an "officially" top 5 player in the world.

I am so sorry for you that none of the american guys won (I really like Bubba), maybe that is why all the people left from the stages while the trophy was presented to Martin... that was disrespectful.

I take offense from your post as a German (yes there are people from Germany interested in GCA )... and hope you read this,

cheers.

Emil,

I think everyone yourself included should resist posting what they do not know.  The size of Germany in square miles is a bit under 138,000 square miles.  Montana, the 4th largest state (by size in the US) is 147,000 square miles .  Thus, Germany is larger by area than most of the US states (all but 4).  If we are going by population, California is the largest US State at 36 million.  WAY BELOW GERMANY.  So your statement that it is smaller than most of our states holds no water.   From a golf course standpoint, it sounds like Germany is small as the state of Michigan has over 800 public golf courses; Ohio has over 600, California over 700, New York, over 600.


I understand you are mad/offended and rightfully so.  I knew who Martin Kaymer was as a golfer and did not think he was a no name.


As for people leaving during the trophy presentation, they paid their money; they can do what they want.  Who cares whether the patrons at Whistling Straits stay or go; it does not change the fact that Mr. Kaymer is now the raining PGA Champion (Iwould guess he could have given a flying flip if they stayed or left).  Oh I get it, another chance to point out that American’s are crude, crass, uncouth, disrespectful, etc.
Chris

[Ulrich Mayring]

I know many modest, thoughtful and generally agreeable Americans. I believe there may be some on this discussion board. But it takes just one idiot to ruin an entire nation's reputation. Believe me, we Germans know

But apart from that, in my eyes the criticism wasn't directed at Americans specifically and how could it be? No one knows (or cares) what nationality the misbehaving patrons had. I'm just saying that it would be mighty unfair if a competitor hits a bad shot, because someone in the gallery was acting up. Whereas Johnson had it all in his hands and blew it of his own accord.

Ulrich