Dustin Johnson’s first major title at the 2016 U.S. Open came after a controversial ruling. Ten years later, Johnson reveals how he handled the situation with the tournament officials. 

Johnson secured the major after climbing above 54-hole leader Shane Lowry by three strokes. The conditions were challenging as he rose from the packed leaderboard. Speaking in Bunkered's digital U.S. Open mini-mag preview, available through Apple News+,

"I said, 'Give me the penalty and the trophy. Let's do it," Johnson said. Though this doesn't mean he agrees with the decision.

"It shouldn't have been a penalty," Johnson said. "Me, Lee [Westwood], Billy [Foster], AJ were in there, and we were watching it, arguing with them. But, at the end of the day, it didn't matter."

Johnson was standing over a 6-foot putt for par on the 390-yard par 4 when the drama unfolded. As he took a few practice strokes behind the ball and moved his putter to hit, the ball moved slightly.

To Johnson’s credit, the 24-time PGA Tour winner asked for a ruling. A tournament official consulted him and his playing partner, Lee Westwood, and no immediate penalty was given to Johnson.

However, there was a twist in the tale. 

“Coming off the 12th, he came back and said, ‘We need to review it when you’re done.’ I said Sure, that’s fine,” Johnson revealed that the official came back.

Johnson responded by playing brilliantly on the back nine, building a cushion that ultimately made the penalty irrelevant. He secured a four-stroke lead over the rest and headed to scoring.

Over there, the 41-year-old was informed that Rule 18.2 was applied to the incident on the fifth green. As a result, he was given a one-stroke penalty, which did not hurt his title hopes.

The controversy eventually contributed to a rule change, with the USGA and R&A later removing penalties for balls that accidentally move on the putting green under Rule 13.1d.

The now-LIV Golfer has been a consistent performer at the U.S. Open. Let’s look at some of his best performances.

Dustin Johnson's History of Success at the U.S. Open

The 2016 U.S. Open win was certainly Johnson’s best performance at the major, but a year before that, he had come agonizingly close to securing the title.

At Chambers Bay in 2015, Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen fell one stroke short of 21-year-old Jordan Spieth, who became the youngest U.S. Open champion in 92 years.

After a missed cut in 2017, Johnson managed a 3rd place finish at Shinnecock Hills a year later, under extremely challenging conditions.

At the Pinehurst Resort in 2014, the 24-time PGA winner secured a T4 finish. Germany’s Martin Kaymer lifted the title that year with a staggering eight-stroke win margin.

What do you think about Dustin Johnson's US Open penalty all those years ago? Let us know in the comments.

Read more on the Club Golf

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Rudra Dubey