Dustin Johnson was already no stranger to a rules controversy on the final day of a major championship heading into the last round of the 2016 US Open.
The 2010 PGA Championship ended in drama, with Dustin Johnson missing out on being involved in the playoff after receiving a two-shot penalty after the final hole. Johnson incorrectly believed he had grounded his club in a waste area at Whistling Straits, rather than a bunker.
Heading to Oakmont six years later, Johnson was still awaiting his first major win. He went into the final round four shots behind Shane Lowry.
It proved to be an eventful Sunday.
Jordan Spieth was left furious by the rules controversy involving Dustin Johnson at the 2016 US Open
Johnson was informed during the round that he was facing a penalty. His ball had moved on the fifth green while his putter was at address and it had to be determined whether the American had caused the movement.
Initially, he was absolved of responsibility. However, he was ultimately given a one-shot penalty after his round.
It was undoubtedly farcical to have Johnson carrying on with the doubt hanging over him. Thankfully, he still managed to win by three shots.
And speaking to Golf Digest shortly after, Jordan Spieth admitted that he has no idea how Johnson was able to go on and lift the trophy.
“I’ve had quite a few occasions where something else caused the ball to move even though I had taken my practice strokes just like Dustin did but had not put my putter behind the ball and I’ve never seen it called a penalty. I believe there was enough time between when his putter was there to when the ball actually moved to be confident in saying he didn’t cause it to move,” he said.
“I think that what Dustin did was extremely special given that circumstance. I promise you, I would have thrown a fit. I wouldn’t have hit another shot. I would have sat there like, ‘this is not the way this goes. Let’s figure this out right now’. You can’t have a potential penalty or not. You’ve got to know in that case.”
How Dustin Johnson reacted to the uncertainty after his victory at Oakmont
It probably did help that it was Johnson who was at the centre of the controversy. The former world number one is not someone who shows a lot of emotion on the golf course.
One of his great strengths is his ability to focus on the next shot and nothing else. So it is understandable that he was able to deal with the question marks.
Speaking after his final round, Johnson noted that he was hoping to make sure that it could not cost him whatever happened.
“They said they were going to look at it when we got done. I felt like I wasn’t going to be penalized, so I just went about my business. Just focused on the drive on 12 and from there on out, that we’d deal with when we got done,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter now, and I’m glad it didn’t matter because that would have been bad. But, you know, it worked out.”
As Spieth suggested, a lot of players would have found it nearly impossible to put it to one side coming down the stretch as they attempt to win their first major.
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