Ron Cook: USGA almost chokes at U.S. Open; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/20/16

Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Ron Cook: USGA almost chokes at U.S. Open:

"Oakmont did a beautiful job with its ninth Open, pulling it off despite violent storms that interrupted play Thursday and could have ruined the weekend. That, too, should have been a big story.

What a shame that the USGA had to get in the way.

The silliness started on the fifth green of the final round when Johnson backed off a putt and called for a rules official. Johnson had noticed his ball move and wanted to make sure the officials knew he had nothing to do with it. He didn’t want to be penalized one stroke.

The official appeared satisfied with Johnson’s explanation. That should have been the end of it. Golf is the one sport where integrity and honor still exist. Saturday, Shane Lowry, who ended up finishing in a tie for second behind Johnson, called a one-stroke penalty on himself when he noticed his ball move on the 16th green. “I had to penalize myself,” he said afterward.

If I’m the USGA, I would have believed Johnson when he said he wasn’t responsible."