Sunday at the U.S. Open is one of the most special days of the golfing year. Especially at a revered venue like Oakmont the stage was set for a great finish.
Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Scott Piercy, Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace were trading blows, both birdies and bogeys throughout the day and then all hell broke loose.
But it had nothing to do with any shot hit by any player.
Rather, the USGA and its rules team decided that Dustin Johnson’s rules decision on the fifth green, which was already 
decided upon by one of their officials, was being reviewed and he may be assessed a penalty. But they wouldn’t decide that until after the round was over.
So Johnson was faced with not only the pressure of trying to win a major championship, like he has for the past years, but he didn’t know if he was four under or five under.
As if he didn’t have enough to deal with now in the heat of playing a major championship he has to play with the uncertainty of not knowing what he was actually shooting.
We all know there are rules and playing by the rules and policing ourselves is part of the fabric of the game. But for those occasions when players may need some help the USGA has a rules official with each group at the U.S. Open.
When Johnson saw his ball move he immediately called over his official. After a short discussion the official deemed there was no infraction and to play it as it lies. Johnson makes his par, a four and moves on.
Later on the twelfth tee the USGA steps in and tells Johnson that they will look at the video of the incident together after he finishes play and then decide if he will get a penalty.
No one on the Fox broadcast had ever seen anything like this and it tainted the rest of the afternoon’s play.
Amazingly, Johnson seemed the least bothered by the incident. But he did pound his next tee ball 328 yards in the air and went about his business. He did card another bogey but he played solid golf down the stretch as the field melted around him.
He teed off on eighteen and pounded it down the middle, hit a pure iron to to green and sank the birdie. He had won the U.S. Open only we didn’t know by how much.
After a discussion with the USGA they assessed him a one stoke penalty, his four on the fifth became a five and he finished at four under par three shots clear of Jim Furyk, Lowry and Piercy.
Afterwards Johnson showed no bitterness or malice towards the USGA and thanked the fans and Oakmont for a great week. 
He displayed great inner strength over his last six holes with added pressure on his back and he showed class and dignity at the awards ceremony.
On the other hand the USGA looked like fools at their premier event. It a shame this Open was tainted by this fiasco.
But Dustin Johnson finally get his first major and displayed enormous class and graciousness.
The USGA should take a lesson.
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