major bummer
Yesterday, the fourth and final major of the professional golf year came to an end, but not without a bang. This year’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin was probably the most exciting major of the whole year. With only an hour left in the tournament, there were at least 6 players still within contention to win. Martin Kaymer of Germany ended up lifting the Wanamaker trophy and taking hold of “glory’s last shot,” but unfortunately the bigger story of the final day was the disappointing ending to Dustin Johnson’s day, which is recapped here. While I most definitely wish it would’ve turned out better for Johnson, as I would’ve been rooting for him in the playoff, I can’t say I don’t agree with the ruling. Golf’s rules are clear. You can’t ground your club in a bunker. Period. The fact that the crowd had trampled, danced, and more or less destroyed the bunker he landed in makes it tough though. I mean, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I was on the 18th whole of the PGA Championship with a one stroke lead. But, then again, rules are rules. And as this article on Fanhouse states, that’s one thing that separates golf from every other sport. There’s no official staring into a video camera watching over and over to see if a toe is out of bounds, or a player lead with his helmet, made a distinct throwing or kicking motion, or deserves a red card or not; there’s just the rules, plain and clear. And Johson respected them ultimately. He’ll be back.