US Open: Johnson breaks a rule and his championship drought


AP
2:23 a.m. EDT June 20, 2016

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) โ€” Dustin Johnson didn’t understand the rule.

But what he had to do? That was another story. The heartbreak of losing other major championships taught him well.

Johnson kept his cool Sunday while facing a possible penalty for something he claimed he didn’t do. He played steady down the stretch before hitting the 6-iron of his life on the final hole โ€” from 192 yards out to 3 feet โ€” to finally win a U.S. Open.

Thankfully for both U.S. Golf Association officials and Johnson, the penalty didn’t play a role in the outcome.

“I didn’t think that I did anything to cause the ball to move,” he said, “but at the end of the day, it didn’t affect what happened. So it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Some lessons learned from a long, steamy day at Oakmont Country Club:

RULES AREN’T ALWAYS RULES: USGA officials debated among themselves after it appeared Johnson’s ball moved as he addressed it on the fifth green. But it was clear they were going to penalize Johnson even when he said it wasn’t his fault. The ruling drew howls of protests on Twitter from Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. The USGA…

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