DJ's "Bunker-brain-gate"

{For the shortened version and time challenged, please omit the indented text}

CAUTION: I like Dustin Johnson, pro golfer, he seems like a very likeable fella in a Gomer Pyle kinda way and he's good for the Tour but the following may not sound like it.

Simply, I want DJ to think better when he's in the hunt. He has filthy talent but a corncob for a brain at times. Speaking of corncobs, he kinda reminds me of Sam Snead. As Ben Hogan said of Snead, "he was the best most powerful swinger I ever saw, and if Sam had half a brain he would have beaten everyone".

{Is that fair to compare Snead with DJ, probably not on alot of different levels. But the facts are the facts. DJ has blown two leads in majors this year on the final day because of not thinking clearly in the heat of the moment. On top of that, his caddy, Bobby Brown, not Whitney's-ex BB, but a former looper from Pebble Beach, hasn't helped DJ's cause. He seems equally brainstrung when the heat rises. If these two remain together and continue to jointly "brainfreeze" simultaneously, they could become golf's version of "Dumb and dumber".}

DJ's and BB's latest joint cerebral crash happened again yesterday on the 72nd hole of the last major of the year, the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits...with them in the lead...again. Remember what happened to this twosome at the US Open at Pebble Beach on Father's Day with them in the lead? They blew it physically and, more importantly, mentally, on the first four holes. What happened this time? Well, you probably know the news by now, so let me give you the "rest of the story" and a small observation from my side of the couch.

{The 72nd hole at WS is a tough par 4, if DJ pars the hole...he probably wins his first major. Not so fast. His drive bends violently right and goes 40 yards offline. Suddenly, his par and win are in jeopardy. He comes upon his wayward ball and finds it on a "sandy surface". Not grass. Not a road. Not a forest. Not a wall. Not in the grandstands. But on sand with an obvious fescue edge to the upside bank. His ball was so far offline that the fans had been standing alongside and inside the "sandy surface." DJ sizes up the next shot to the green, grounds his club behind the ball and whacks the ball towards the green. Misses the green and pitches to within 8 feet for a saving par putt. Misses the putt and settles for a bogey. Par and outright victory are now lost. But sudden death is his bridesmaid...he thinks...until the rules official tells him later that he grounded his club behind the ball before his second shot within a sand bunker or hazard. That is an automatic two stroke penalty. He slips into fifth place. Eraser please. No sudden death.}

Now the question is, was that "sandy surface" a bunker? DJ obviously didn't think so. BB could not be found. They never asked a nearby rules official if the "sandy surface" was a bunker or not. DJ's mantra is: see the ball, hit the ball, walk to the ball, and hit it again, harder. I think and hope that mantra will change now.

With over 1200 Pete Dye bunkers on that property, the tournament rules sheet clearly states that all 1200 bunkers, raked or unraked, are hazards...treat accordingly. No grounding of clubs are permitted and if so, a two stroke penalty will be affixed to the players score. The rules sheet was posted all week in the players locker room and on the first tee for all the players to read. They did this for several reasons, mainly because in 2004 Stuart Appleby incurred a 2 stroke penalty for the same offense and they did not want a redux of that debate. Sadly, DJ and BB did not read the rules. As another young golfer, Nick Watney, so cavalierly stated: "...no one out here reads those rules sheets." I would have loved to see Jack Nicklaus's or Tom Watson's or Johnny Miller's reactions to that ignorant admission.

{Golf is a game of rules. If there were not rules, Uncle Jimmy's foot wedge would be considered another club in his bag.}

I know the rules are arcane and something akin to the IRS tax code but that's why there are rules officials roaming with every group. If the players don't know what to do, they ask the officials, before you do something regrettable, particularly, on the last hole of a major tournament as the leader. In this case, DJ did not ask. DJ hit the ball. DJ lost. It didn't have to be that way.

Moral of the story reminds me of what Ben Hogan said of his famous enduring mystery known as "The Secret" for how to play this maddening game well. Hogan wrote, "it isn't about weakening the left hand grip, or fanning the club open on the backswing, or cupping his left wrist inward at the top of the backswing that are the secrets, the true secret is having the mental toughness, self-control, focus that cannot be photographed." Golf continues to be 90% mental and 10% physical. Just ask DJ.

{I suggest to DJ, BB, and the young gun Nick Watneys on tour to read Curt Sampson's book, Hogan, and maybe they will agree with Steve Jones, the 1996 US Open Champion, when Steve said, "I couldn't have won the US Open without reading this book." I'm sure they can skim it on-line...the new age non-tactile non-stick approach to learning.}

The PGA returns to Whistling Straits in 2015 and a reporter asked Pete Dye, the fabulous yet devilish designer of Whistling Straits, what changes will occur from this confused outcome of the tourney? Without missing a beat and in his own Warren Buffett-style of speech giggled with eyes a-darting and said, "we'll add even more bunkers next time."

For Pete's sake...