Johnson is looking to win his first major championship (Getty)
Through 13 holes in the final round of the U.S. Open, Dustin Johnson held a one-stroke lead on Shane Lowry as he looked to win his first-ever major championship. However, where he finishes on the leaderboard will be impacted by the USGA’s decision regarding Johnson possibly moving his ball while preparing for his par putt on the fifth hole.
Originally nothing was said of Johnson’s preparations, but at the 12th hole he was approached by managing director of the Open Championships Jeff Hall and told that officials would look into the possibility of a one-stroke penalty. That won’t occur until after Johnson completes his round however, as Hall explained to the FOX Sports broadcasting crew.
Will Dustin Johnson be assessed a 1-stroke penalty?
USGA’s Jeff Hall tells us their view of the situation. #USOpen
“We told Dustin that we reviewed the situation with his par putt on hole 5, and after looking at the video the actions that he took could very well have caused the ball to move, that the onus might be on the player in that situation,” Hall said.
“We asked him, ‘is there some other reason that the ball could have moved,’ and he didn’t necessarily state another reason but he said that ‘I don’t think that I caused the ball to move.'”
With that being the case, Hall said that the officials wanted to give Johnson the opportunity to look at their video after completing his round. But he also stated that the actions “could very well lead” to a one-stroke penalty, making it no sure thing that Johnson will be penalized after he sees the video. This all puts Johnson, and the golfers chasing him, in an awkward situation as the U.S. Open winds down.
UPDATE: Johnson was penalized a stroke but still won the U.S. Open by three strokes.