PGA Championship fallout continues

Nearly a week later, the fallout from the end of the PGA Championship and the unfortunate result for Dustin Johnson continues to linger.

(I refuse to do as so many others have and label it bunker-gate. Why does every controversy in sports have to have gate attached to the end of it?)

This is especially interesting to me because many people I know can’t understand why I enjoy watching golf on TV.

Nothing happens.

It’s boring.

Watching paint dry would be more exciting.

I, of course, disagree with that line of thinking.

I love the skill, I love the creativity and I love the shot-making.

But perhaps most of all, I’ve always loved the fact that the players determined the outcome—not the opinions of educated, informed, well, bystanders also known as referees.

That is, until last week.

I will never begrudge the fact that Johnson shouldn’t have grounded his club in that bunker. Even he didn’t.

But I can’t conscionably place the blame squarely on his shoulders.

He does need to burden some of the blame, especially in light of how far right he hit his tee shot.

But there are others complicit in this misdeed.

You can blame David Price—the rules official that walked the final round with Johnson and Nick Watney—for not clearing the gallery from the bunker and thus making it clear that it was, indeed, a bunker.

You can blame the PGA of America for not treating all bunkers—even if there are 1200 of them—the same.

And you can blame Pete Dye—the architect—for feeling the need to try and mentally over-power players with bunkers that won’t often, if ever, come in to play.

On the plus side there seems to be significant evidence that Johnson has already moved past the disappointment.

Now if only I could follow his lead.