San Francisco, CA – April 27, 2012 – Olympic Golf Club: Scenics from the Olympic Golf Club. US OPEN Trophy.(Photo by Scott Clarke / ESPN)
If all goes well at the U.S. Open, there won’t be a major controversy such as the one last year that involved eventual champion Dustin Johnson. The USGA has taken steps forward on technology to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
At the 2016 U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pa., a ruling on Johnson’s ball moving during the final round wasn’t ruled upon until after the round, causing confusion about the leaderboard and consternation. After Johnson won the championship by three shots despite the one-shot penalty and upon reflection, the USGA expressed regret over the distraction and pledged to assess procedures for handling video review.
For this year’s U.S. Open in Erin Hills, Wis., the USGA will use technology to help make sure the delay doesn’t happen again.
“We have four on-course video review locations in assist us in expediting our rules decision-making process,” John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s Senior Managing Director, Championships & Governance, told reporters. “These locations will be augmented also by tablets. And some of us on the committee will have those with us and will be able to move quickly on making decisions considering facts as we go forward.”
Bodenhamer reiterated that last year’s ruling took too long.
“We’ve enhanced the technology so we’ll be able to have a quick look,” he said.
“I think our intention is for our committee to have the ability to review on-course.”
