I feel terrible for Dustin Johnson.
The ruling of grounding his club in a sand trap penalized him 2 strokes and cost him a chance to compete in the playoff with eventual winner Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson. I thought it was a horrible situation. The “sand trap” in question was outside the ropes; had been trampled on by the crowds; and quite frankly didn’t even look like a sand trap! Even Sir Nick Faldo in the booth said he wouldn’t have thought it was if he was playing it. Unfortunately, the local rules which were clearly disseminated (or not so clearly for Johnson) stated that anything that even looked like sand in this unique course with over 1,200 sand traps, was to be considered sand. I’m only thankful Johnson didn’t make the 5-footer for par that would have won him his first major for about 7 seconds before even worse tragedy.
In the end though, Johnson can only blame himself. He needed a par to win and to make par on the brutal 18th hole, you need to put it in the fairway. He didn’t. Not only that, he was way right outside the ropes. This was his opportunity. He didn’t have to be long (which for him he could have gone with a 3-wood); just straight. Opportunity lost.
The other American in the fray, Bubba Watson, is a great story. Known as an erratic, long-hitter, he reminds me of the Kevin Costner character in “Tin Cup,” a little. He played a tremendous final round and found himself in a 3-hole playoff with Kaymer. After taking a 0ne-stroke lead after the first hole, he watched Kaymer make a terrific birdie on 17 to square the match. Watson held an advantage after the drives as aymer had a poor lie. All Watson has to do is work the ball up the right side (his lie wasn’t great either) and put the pressure on the German. Instead, he goes for the oin, comes up 30 yards short, and plops it in the water. Kaymer plays smart in and wins the tournament. Opportunity lost for Watson.
Martin Kaymer from Germany takes the PGA. Loius Oosthuizen from South Africa took the British Open. Graheme McDowell from Ireland is the US Open champ. Only Phil Mickelson can raise the USA banner in majors this year with his dramatic win in the Masters. Americans were all over the leader boards but made terrible gaffes when the pressure was on in most. A learning experience for many of them. This is now truly an international game with golfers from China, South Korea, and all over the globe competing as the best in the world.
Next up – the Fed Ex Cup finish (led by South African Ernie Els) and the Ryder Cup. Should be a fun end of the season. Let’s hope the American can find a way to keep their composure under pressure.
P.S. Tiger Woods was bad over the weekend again, but not as bad as the previous week. Expect hi to be named to the Ryder Cup team by captain Corey Pavin. He’s too good in match play where spectacular once in a while is rewarded more than in medal play.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
