Dustin Johnson may have caused his ball to move as he was addressing it on the fifth green at the U.S. Open Sunday, and it could result in a penalty stroke.
A rules official approached Johnson on the 12th tee to inform him that a video review showed his ball did, in fact, move before he hit the putt. While it didn’t appear that Johnson addressed the ball, it’s possible the vibrations from his putter being placed down next to the ball caused it to move. Here’s the video:
The official later explained that he asked Johnson if there was something other than his actions that could have caused the ball to move. Johnson said he wasn’t sure, so he was told he could be facing a one-stroke penalty after the round pending further review. He was in the lead at 5-under at the time.
From the way the official explained it on air, it sounds as though the belief is that Johnson is responsible for the ball moving.
"We thought that was the only thing we could do" @USGA's Jeff Hall on notifying DJ about a possible penalty. #USOpenhttps://t.co/9wWSuSq6nA
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2016
Several of Johnson’s fellow golfers immediately took to Twitter to rip the USGA.
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
Wow @USGA wow.
— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) June 19, 2016
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
Hey @usopengolf @USGA do not make the mistake of penalizing Dustin, he did NOTHING to cause ball to move.
— Webb Simpson (@webbsimpson1) June 19, 2016
Johnson ended up penalized a stroke at the end of his round, finishing with a 69. But he still won by a large enough margin to capture the US Open, marking his first ever major.
While the penalty stroke was terrible break for Johnson, it should be noted that he caught a pretty big one on the 10th hole after he hit a bad tee shot and was given a free drop. You can read more about that situation here.
