So everyone is talking about Dustin Johnson grounding his club in the bunker for his second shot on No. 18 yesterday.
I emailed Chris Zugel to see if he saw the infraction in-person, and what his take on the whole thing was.
Zugel said he didn't see Johnson ground the club with his own two eyes, as he was with Mike Lee, CGCS, in the fairway, waiting for the trophy presentation. "I heard on the rules radio that they thought that they had seen Dustin ground his club, but they were going to review it with him in the clubhouse," Zugel said. "I saw it later before the playoff started. I thought that he did ground his club, but I think he thought it was classified as a waste bunker and could therefore ground his club."
Zugel said a similar situation happened at Whistling Straits during the 2007 Senior Open. A caddie raked a bunker that turned out to be the same bunker his player was standing in, thereby incurring a penalty.
"The players are given a local rule which states that all bunkers were considered hazards, so they would avoid this type of situation when some bunkers are trampled on and some are not," Zugel said. "I think that Dustin thought twice about it because most places you play have waste bunkers where you can ground your club... but Whistling Straits has hundreds of those bunkers so they had to create a local rule that would treat all bunkers equally."
The whole thing is disappointing, but the PGA got it right. And if you're Johnson, you can take solace in the fact that you took it all gracefully. You can also look at it the way many coaches look at a game when they lose a close one at the end with a missed field goal or missed free throw... you shouldn't have put yourself in that position in the first place. Had Johnson hit a decent drive on No. 18, he wouldn't have been grounding his club in a beyond-the-ropes bunker.
What's your take on Johnson grounding the club?
I'll have the results of the pick 'em posted this afternoon... scanning them quickly, there looks like there is another clear winner...
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