USGA have one last chance to save US Open
THE US Open should have been all about Dustin Johnson’s arrival into the Major-winners’ club after so many near misses.
Instead, the USGA stole the show because of their botched handling of the incident when Johnson’s ball moved on the putting surface of the fifth green.
It was bad for so many reasons. It painted golf in a bad light for having complicated and antiquated rules.
The situation threatened to question Johnson’s integrity as the USGA would not categorically believe the American when he said he had not caused his ball to move.
They undermined their own official, who had been called to assess the incident at the time and had said there was no problem.
But to only arrive to speak to Johnson on the 12th tee was farcical. Then to leave it for discussion after he had finished playing was embarrassing.
The USGA were incredibly insensitive to the huge pressure the players in the final few groups were under. This was the final round of the US Open, on the hardest course in America, not the monthly medal!
All the players were affected, not just Johnson. No-one knew if there would be a penalty or not, so nobody knew where they stood.
Spectators on the course and TV viewers around the world did not know what was happening. In the modern world, that is almost unforgivable.
Johnson’s attitude probably saved the USGA an even bigger savaging. Others would have refused to carry on but he got on with the golf and won by so many shots that a onestroke penalty did not affect the final result.
There was eventually an apology issued, but the damage was done.
The USGA is the ruling body for our sport in the game’s most- powerful country but their credibility is now in tatters.
They made Chambers Bay a laughing stock for last year’s US Open, when the greens were awful, and now this.
Next year the tournament will be staged at a new course, Erin Hills in Wisconsin. They can ill afford another cock-up as they are making a mockery of one of the great championships.
Having said that, Oakmont produced a great winner in Johnson and this could be the first of multiple Majors for him.
I have kept putting his name forward because his game was too good not to win one and, after so many near- misses, he finally delivered.
Look at the way he played the 72nd hole. A trademark huge 300plus yard drive straight down the middle, followed by a laser-guided iron to a few feet for a simple birdie. Flawless.
It’s now a question of attitude, and this is where Butch Harmon comes in. He knows he’s working with a special player and it’s about instilling the hunger and desire in his man to keep winning.
Johnson should now be looking forward to coming over for The Open next month. He’ll be a serious threat at Royal Troon and I can’t wait to see how he tackles this classic links.