OAKMONT, Pa. — It's early. There's still a lot of time for Dustin Johnson to do whatever he's going to do. But if he melts down in a major again, the fifth hole at Oakmont will be the starting point.
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Johnson, while up two strokes on three players, hit a shot near a TV tower. He took two club lengths worth of relief, as seemed to be his right because the TV tower is an unnatural obstacle. The relief put him in a shorter cut of rough — and then he smashed it over the TV tower.
Dustin Johnson gets TIO relief but what the heck... go ahead & aim directly at cameraman! pic.twitter.com/eYQw217NSt
— Lance Ringler (@GolfweekRingler) June 19, 2016
It seems legal, if not completely in the spirit of the rule — but game is game. Unless the USGA decides that he actually broke a rule. And they may, because according to multiple reports, whether Johnson loses a stroke will be the subject of a review. What they're reviewing is unclear.
The bigger issue came on the fifth green, when the ball seemed to move while Johnson was taking a practice swing. Johnson pulled away from the ball and told the rules official that it had moved on its own, not because he struck it.
The official agreed, Johnson took his putt from the new spot and eventually made par. The USGA, after the fact, apparently could have a problem with that.
That seems ridiculous, and Jordan Spieth agrees.
Lemme get this straight.. DJ doesn't address it. It's ruled that he didn't cause it to move. Now you tell him he may have? Now? This a joke?
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) June 19, 2016
Rory McIlroy does, too.
This is ridiculous... No penalty whatsoever for DJ. Let the guy play without this crap in his head. Amateur hour from @USGA
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 19, 2016
So does Rickie Fowler.
.@JordanSpieth @McIlroyRory w/ you boys! The fact that the @usga thinks that DJ caused the ball to move is completely ridiculous! Laughable!
— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowler) June 19, 2016
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If it happens, it won't be the first time he's lost strokes in the last round of a major. In 2010, he missed out on a playoff for the PGA Championship after it was determined that he grounded his club in a bunker.
Johnson took his lead after Shane Lowry lost four strokes in the first 10 holes.