The mistake that cost Dustin Johnson two strokes and a shot at the PGA Championship on Sunday was viewed differently by Front Range golf experts Monday.
Ed Mate, the executive director of the Colorado Golf Association, had little sympathy for Johnson, who unknowingly grounded his club in a bunker on the 18th hole at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wis. His two-shot penalty prevented him a playoff and dropped him into a tie for fifth.
“Never once did it cross my mind it was in a sand trap,” Johnson told reporters afterward about the bunker, which had been trampled over all week by spectators.
“Golf is unique in that it’s the only sport where you act as your own referee, your own rules official, and that gives you a higher level of responsibility in knowing the rules,” Mate said. “And it was Dustin Johnson’s responsibility to know the rules, and he failed to follow them. It’s unfortunate, for sure. You hate to see a tournament decided by something other than great golf shots and talent. It was a technicality, but at the end of the day it’s one of the great things about the game. It’s up to the players to know the rules.”
Jason Preeo of Highlands Ranch, the MetaGolf Learning Center instructor who qualified for his first U.S. Open in June, said Johnson should only share in the blame and rules should be put into place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“In the future, maybe what they’ll need to do is make sure they send a rules official up ahead when a ball goes into a crowd like that, because when spectators are standing near the bunker you don’t necessarily know if it’s a bunker or just a waste area,” Preeo said.
“The best word to use about what happened is unfortunate. . . . Everybody is a little bit to blame, and something awful happened.”
Carl O’Keefe, publisher of Golf Views magazine, said: “You can’t assume anything, especially when you’re playing for that kind of money, and in such a prestigious event. If it was as clearly stated as they say it was at the start of the tournament, he has no excuse.”
The mistake cost Johnson potentially more than a million dollars. He won $271,000 for tying for fifth. The champion, Martin Kaymer, earned $1.35 million.
Mate said Johnson’s error might help teach players how to prepare for tournaments.
“It’s interesting to me that the players are even admitting that they don’t read the rules sheets, and that’s right up our alley as a state association,” Mate said. “We conduct championships, that’s what we do. We hand out papers — we call it notice to competitors — and it spells out all the little things you need to be aware of. And nine players out of 10 won’t even read it. They’ll flip it over and look at the hole locations and not even bother to read it.
“We can lie in the water, but we can’t make them drink.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
