One of the Thousands of Bunkers that Line This Course

One of the Thousands of Bunkers that Line This Course

It was a day when six golfers entered the last few holes within a single Jackson jersey of the lead, a day when a first-time major winner would achieve his life's dream. Germany's Martin Kaymer would win the tournament, but the story of the afternoon -- indeed, the story of the season -- would belong to Dustin Johnson. Satchel Paige jersey initially said that Johnson's tee shot went into "one of the thousands of bunkers that line this course," and that statement -- apparently forgotten in what would happen next -- would prove sadly prophetic.

As contender after contender fell just short, it appeared to be a day of redemption for Paige jersey, the 26-year-old American who had self-destructed on the final day of the U.S. Open just a few weeks ago. Johnson had faced down almost every opponent this week and was within a stroke of winning his first major. But then he smacked hard against the PGA's Larry Doby jersey -- and that's a battle that nobody ever wins.

To set the stage: After 71 holes, Johnson led the PGA Championship by a single stroke. All he had to do was make par -- something he's probably done, oh, 50,000 times in his life -- and the major trophy was his. But Johnson sent his Doby jersey shot wide right, deep into the gallery and that was where his troubles began. Speaking of the gallery -- in most tournaments, the gallery isn't permitted to stand in sand traps. Yet here they were, trampling down the edges of this and hundreds of other bunkers well outside the range of play.

The PGA will take all kinds of heat for this ruling, with good reason -- the spirit of the rule and the letter are two different things entirely, and while Johnson violated the latter, he didn't violate the former. Following the rules -- or, put another Tim Raines jersey, grasping them the way a drowning man clutches at a life preserver -- is, to the letter of the law, the correct thing to do. There's nothing that can be done for Johnson now, but the PGA ought to look much more closely at the practical effects of its own rules, particularly the local ones that shift with each Raines jersey.