Martin Kaymer’s name is forever in the record books as the winner of the PGA Championship. But it’s Dustin Johnson whose story will be the tournament’s defining memory.
Dustin Johnson prepares to play his second shot on the 18th hole during the final round.
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
“I think it’s very sad,” Kaymer said. “To see that he didn’t have a chance to win a major, or to win a golf tournament … it’s very sad to see. I don’t know what to say.”
ohnson was knocked out of Sunday’s playoff because of a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker he figured for a footpath. A tiny patch of sand well behind the ropes on the 18th fairway that spectators had trampled over all week. A rules violation he never thought was at issue.
“Never once did it cross my mind it was in a sand trap,” Johnson said.
But rules are rules, and never moreso than in the honorable game of golf. This, after all, is a game where the athletes call fouls on themselves.
And this one was posted for everyone to see—in the locker room and on every tee box.
Honestly, I don’t think anyone reads the sheets,” said Nick Watney, Johnson’s playing partner. “I mean, we’ve played in hundreds of tournaments, we get a sheet every week.”
But ignorance is no excuse. Not that Johnson tried to make one.
Already showered and dressed in his street clothes before Kaymer and Bubba Watson had finished the first of their three playoff holes, Johnson said he had grounded his club. He didn’t even bother taking rules officials up on their offer to go to the TV truck and study a high-resolution replay.
“I guess,” Johnson said, “maybe I should have looked at the rules sheet a little harder.”
Kaymer earned $1.35 million with the victory, went to third in the Ryder Cup standings for Europe and moved to a career-best No. 5 in the world.
“I cannot win anything bigger,” Kaymer said. “Just knowing that I can win a tournament like that will give me huge confidence for any other tournament I will play for the rest of my career.”
To get full credit, though, Kaymer is going to have to win another one. Otherwise, he’ll always be remembered as the guy who cashed in on Johnson’s misfortune.
For Johnson, who wound up in a three-way tie for fifth, it’s a matter of getting over a major disappointment.
Tiger Woods remained No. 1 in the world ranking today, though not even close to that on two lists - the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup - that mean much more these days.
Woods failed to qualify for the Ryder Cup for the first time - he had led the standings every other time since 1997 - and now must rely on US captain Corey Pavin spending one of four wild-card picks on him.
In a hotel conference room today (NZ time), Pavin sat at the head table between two poster boards, each showing the final standings for the eight American qualifiers. Woods' name was nowhere to be found between Phil Mickelson at No. 1 and Matt Kuchar at No. 8.
Pavin would only say that Woods is "high on my list" and will be a "big consideration" when he announces his selections September 7.
"I'm looking at him in essence like any other player. He isn't ... but he is," Pavin said. "I'm certainly not going to disrespect other players by considering him different from other players. I have to look at the way he's playing, the way he played, and I have to look at his body of work as well. If anyone can turn it around quickly, it's him."
Woods should have at least one more tournament to make an impression.
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