Rozner: USGA still owes Johnson, fans apology

Still waiting, USGA.

Still waiting for you to apologize to Dustin Johnson.

Still waiting for you to say "sorry" to golf fans around the world who watched the last two hours of a sporting event with no idea if the scoreboard was accurate, the equivalent of a fourth quarter in the Super Bowl played while both teams, the announcers and the fans are left to wonder who is winning and how much time is left.

Insanity.

Days later, still waiting for the United States Golf Association to admit it was wrong about what it did at - and to - the U.S. Open on Sunday afternoon.

Don't hold your breath.

That's not the USGA way. It is always right. It is always just. It is always above criticism and always above the fray.

The USGA is perfect. Just ask their leadership and rules officials and they'll be happy to tell you so.

So they couldn't stay out of the way on Sunday when Dustin Johnson was about to experience the greatest hours of his life, after so much heartbreak and so many near misses.

The USGA stole that from him and everyone watching because it always insists on being the story.

It is bigger than the game, bigger than any of these great players, especially Dustin Johnson.

You've seen the video and you know the rule. Johnson never did sole the club. He didn't cause the ball to move on the fifth green and got confirmation of that from playing partner Lee Westwood, Westwood's caddie and Johnson's caddie.

Johnson, an honorable player, knew the ball oscillated back a hair, so he called in a rules official. The referee agreed that there was no penalty and instructed Johnson to "play on."

That's the end of the story. Or, well, it should have been.

"Once the ruling is given, that's the last you should hear of it," said 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus. "There was no penalty, the ref said there was no penalty, and there should have been no penalty. It should have ended on the spot.

"That's the whole point of having an official there on the course. It's over."

It was actually just the beginning. The USGA formed a posse and began questioning the call. Inexplicably, they told Johnson on the 12th tee box - on the lead in the freaking U.S. Open - that he might incur a penalty after the round.

The truth is they already knew they would penalize him, and there's only about 50 things wrong with what they did.

Suffice it to say that there should have never been a discussion after No. 5 green.

The USGA is incredibly lucky that Johnson went on to win by a few strokes, and that he didn't cough it up or say anything bad about the USGA after 18 green.

But he might have been the only one.

In real time, the USGA took a worldwide beating from the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, both of whom own U.S. Open titles. The criticism lasted well into Monday and nearly 24 hours too late, the USGA attempted to apologize.

And couldn't even get that right.

It was a non-apology apology, a statement that offered regret for "the distraction caused by our decision to wait until the end of the round to decide on the ruling."

It then spent several hundred words defending a decision to overturn the ruling on the course, and explaining that the USGA is always right.

So, really, they said they were not sorry for anything because McIlroy, Spieth, Johnson, Westwood and all of you were wrong.

You are wrong. They are right.

Nice apology, one Nicklaus must have laughed at on Monday.

Late Sunday, standing behind the 18th green, Nicklaus told reporters that the USGA decision was "terrible."

"Golf is a game of honor. That's what the USGA believes in, and that's what most of the players all believe in," Nicklaus said. "And when you have a situation where the official was there and said, 'Did you cause it to move?' and he says, 'No,' then that should be the end of the story.

"How's he supposed to know what caused it to move? You've got greens out there with spike marks and pitches. The ball can move at any time."

Nicklaus was most angry that the USGA placed a dark cloud over Johnson on the back nine of a major championship.

"You either have (a penalty) or you don't have one," Nicklaus said. "I think it's very unfair what they did to the player."

It was an astonishing moment in major golf history, one that is certain to sicken the most ardent of fans, and turn off the most casual.

If you have thoughts, feel free to email these fine folks at comments@usga.org.

The USGA had four chances to get the ruling right and did not. It had two chances to apologize and did not get it right. It might have one more chance to admit the fashion in which it butchered this and actually apologize to Johnson and the fans.

Still waiting to hear it - and not holding even a single breath.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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