Scratch’s PGA Championship Recap
This Weekend’s PGA Championship came down to a playoff between Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson who both shot a -11, 277 for the tournament.
The 3 hole playoff ended with Bubba Shooting a +1, and leaving Martin Kaymer to lay claim on the Wanamaker. Congrats Kaymer!
Grabbing just as much attention, however, is the call that kept Dustin Johnson out of the playoff. Johnson incurred a 2-sroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker on the 18th hole. He didn’t contest the decision because he definitely ground his club. But there is question as to whether or not the location was a bunker.
His ball lay in an area off the fairway that had bean heavily trodden on by spectators, so it never crossed his mind that he was in a sand trap. And with more than 1,200 bunkers, not all of which were in play, making for a murky decision.
What do you think Rock Heads? Should Johnson have been given the 2 stroke penalty?
~Scratch
Bonus:
What about World’s 1 and 2? Well Tiger Woods shot a -2 placing him tied for 28th. Phil Mickelson did just a little bit better by shooting a -6 and tying for 12th. No Major Changes in the rankings, except Kaymer’s win boosted him to the #5 position.
I do not think he should have gotten a 2 stroke penalty. If in fact he was in a bunker than spectators should not have been allowed to stand there. I think in the future its an issue that should be addressed
Dustin Johnson had the rules presnted to him in advance which stated that all areas should be treated as bunkers wether in bounds or otherwise. I personally thought the ruling was questionable but considering the official rules of the couse the ruling is fair and the penalty just.
Well, the way I see was that if Dustin Johnson’s tee shot ended up in a bunker then the spectators should have behind the ropes and not aloud to tample the edges of the bunker the way they did. I feel that the PGA needs to be forgiving in these type of instances; yes, he grounded his club and didn’t contest it but I’ve seen better bunkers in Platoon! You could not consider them playable bunkers & if Dustin knew that he wouldn’t have grounded his club. The edge of the bunker was about 5-6 inches inside of where the ball was laying before the shot; it appeared that a spectator was standing in the bunker and kicked sand out over the edge and then it was trampled and an honest accessment couldn’t have been made for the 2-stroke penalty. Would Tiger Woods have been penalized? I think not! Anyway, it was just nice not hearing/seeing Tiger anywhere near the final group(s) the last few weeks!! The PGA really needs to put for more of an effort in marketing the young guns that have stepped up this year; it’s a shame to the entire PGA that Tiger Woods is the face of the game & when he doesn’t play or doesn’t play well, ratings drop!!!! I’m not a Tiger fan in the least, I think that being force-fed so much of something, isn’t good! The lead on Sportcenter last week after the John Deere Classic (I believe); I didn’t know who one but the lead had that Tiger finished 78th, 30 strokes back–just an example of being forced-fed!
No, I don’t think he should have been penalized, because a bunker that the spectators are allowed to walk in should not carry the same rule “can’t ground your club” as a normal bunker. Anybody regardless, tour player or not, under the circumstances would have done just what Dustin did. Survey the situation, hit the shot, go on to the next shot.
Hello Yes he does
No, Dustin did not deserve the 2 stroke penalty. Considering that the fans had been trampling through many of the so called bunkers over the 4 days, it was not easily recognized as being one and if it was, the host of fans should have been kept out of them by the match officials or marshals. What a loss to a young man who played and carried himself throughout the upset brilliantly. Well done Dustin you’ve got a Brit fan forever
If the pro read the rules sheet (which he did) and was standing on SAND- he should have stopped and requested a ruling. You can see in the video of him as he enters the area, drops his club and then picks it up as if knowing that was a trampled down bunker. I think it was inexperience and getting caught up in the moment that he made his error. He will win soon enough because of his length and putting stroke. The biggest error of the day was Bubba going for the back hole location on 18 out of the rough- He gave that trophy to Kaymer although Kaymer did play well enough to win and made a big putt on 17 to even the match. The guy who really should have won the PGA was Steve Elkington who hit great shots, missed a birdie and an eagle coming in, and got robbed on his 3 iron approach that went long. It was certainly a exciting finish and sure beats the old Tiger wins again theme we watched up until a year ago. It will be a long, long road back for Tiger as his contract with the devil has expired and he is back to mere mortal status.
If the pro reads the rules sheet (which he did) and was standing on SAND- he should have stopped and requested a ruling if unsure. You can see in the video of him as he enters the area, drops his club and then picks it up as if knowing that was a trampled down bunker but didn’t recognize it right away. I think it was inexperience and getting caught up in the moment that he made his error. He will win soon enough because of his length and smooth putting stroke. The biggest error of the day was Bubba going for the back hole location on 18 out of the rough- He gave that trophy to Kaymer although Kaymer did play well enough to win and made a big putt on 17 to even the match. The guy who really should have won the PGA was Steve Elkington who hit great shots, missed a birdie and an eagle coming in, and got robbed on his 3 iron approach that went long. It was certainly a exciting finish and sure beats the old Tiger wins again theme we watched up until a year ago. It will be a long, long road back for Tiger as his contract with the devil has expired and he is back to mere mortal status.
There should have been a rake near by if that was a trap and all those people that walked through it should have removed their own foot prints! The offical should have a two stroke penalty and be fired!
given that the tv commentators and most of the rest f the world did NOT recognize the area as a hazard and no one advised him before the fact, i believe it was a grave injustice. also given the importance of the moment, it was a sad outcome for the game of golf
The rules were posted well in advance and lying in ANY sand should have made ANY player ask a rules official and his playing partner over for an opinion. Having said that, had Herb Kohler not spent a ton of money advertising his faucets on golf telecasts, would we have ever seen a major at such a travesty like Whistling Straits ? what kind of rule is it that bunkers are bunkers even with footprints, tire marks, etc ??? the rule matches the course ..AWFUL !
As soon as I saw him groung the club on the sand on TV, I was shouting, ‘That’s a two stroke penalty’. ( My wife asked me who I was talking to) Many weekend hackers may not know all the rules but a Touring Pro. C’mon. He is lucky they didn’t assess the penalty for each individual infraction. On a replay he looks to ground that club 2 more times. The PGA could have bumped him back into the middle of the field and the pay check would not have made him feel better. As to whether it was a bunker. It is obviously a bunker, there were hundreds of bunkers at the Straits that are not in play. Vehicles drive through them and people were walking in them all week. When you hit a shot that far out of the fairway, you better be sure. There is a PGA representative with each group, there was no excuse to not get a ruling. Tiger received an embedded ball ruling on the 5th hole during Friday’s play. Clarification.
Two stroke penalty, was the hardest and worst decision in golf I have ever seen. You can’t hit a ball in the middle of ,000’s of people and say that there is a bunker there. People shouldn’t be allowed to stand in a bunker anytime. So the officials were wrong. Also did another golfer do the same as Dustin and not get a penalty (I think so).
Regards
Chris from Canberra Australia
What a Royal SCREWUP by the PGA!!!!! What is the point of a judge walking with the final 5 groups? TO PREVENT A MISTAKE LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING!!!!! His answer that there were so many people in the way is not good enough. Stop play review the situation and fix it. I’m sure most of us would agree that NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would know that was a sand trap. PLEASE … What happened to common sense and fair play????
THE PGA of shame!!!!!
given the fact there is more than 1200 bunkers on the course you would be
asking the question before you played the shot,
being in the position he was in his caddie should have been saying we are in sand
here is it classed as a bunker or what
No penalty. It was organizers problem to keep spectators off the bunkers, if they were meant to be played as bunkers.
Very Sad when it happened I was crying in my beer and I didn’t agree with the ruling——-
BUT The rules officials made it VERY CLEAR about all bunkers on the course before hand…… 2 shot penalty
I think everyone in the future will be more careful about GROUNDING THE CLUB IN A BUNKER 🙁
I was proud to see that Dustin took it as part of the game —-NO WHINING OUT OF HIM ——- Like some other golfers on the PGA
I do not think it was fair or equitable for the so called bunker to not be maintained like any other bunker in the fielf of play. The PGA should administrate & manage their tournament under the terms that their name exhibits: “Professional” Golf Assoc. I do not know of any other proffesional sports that typically allow spectators on the field of play. Marshalling for the 18th hole during the leaders (Dustin) play was an embarassment and cost him a cool $1.1 million. He was the leader and the PGA failed one of their star /class players. Shame on you PGA
THE LOCAL RULES PREVAIL.RULE NO. 1 STATED ALL SAND WILL BE PLAYED AS HAZARDS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE ROPES.THIS WAS ALSO TOLD TO ALL GOLFERS ON WEDENSDAY.YES TO A 2 STROKE PENALTY.