Endings are always exciting, right? It was exciting to see Robinson Cano throw the ball to Mark Teixeira for the last out of World Series. It was exciting to see Roy Halladay, Dallas Braden, Edwin Jackson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Matt Garza throw no-hitters.
But when you really think about it, endings aren’t always exciting. Watching Mariano Rivera give up the game-winning hit to Luis Gonzalez in the 2001 World Series? That wasn’t warm and fuzzy for Yankee fans. Seeing Brandon Morrow lose his no-hitter with one out left against the Rays, wasn’t the best feeling in the world. And let’s not forget about Armando Galarraga.
My point that I’m trying to get at is, endings are endings, whether we like the outcome or not. And we move on.
Rivera didn’t let his 2001 outing ruin the Hall of Fame career he’s having. The Yankees aren’t still gloating in 2009 glory; they’re trying to repeat. Galarraga isn’t crying at his locker; he has class and understanding.
They. Have. All. Moved. On.
Which leads me to the gut of my post. Let me begin…
The final round of the 2010 PGA Championship was one for the ages. Tiger Woods was long gone when the leaders were playing the back nine. Phil Mickelson, despite shooting the low-round of 67, never really had a shot. Nick Watney, the 52-hole leader, decided he wanted something better to do than win a major and shot himself out with a final round of 81.
And despite all of that, we got a heck of ending to the tournament. 21-year-old, European phenomenon, Rory McIlroy, was looking for his second PGA Tour win. 47-year-old, Australian, Steve Elkington, was looking for his first major win in 15 years. Then throw in Germany’s Martin Kaymer and United States’ Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, Jason Dufner, and Dustin Johnson, and you’ve got a nice recipe for the final closing holes of the PGA Championship.
Put all those names together, and you’ve got a whopping two major titles all together.
And somehow, an ending like this one turned out to be can never be repeated.
Here is how the final round of the final major unfolded:
Despite birding the 18th hole, Dufner had bogeyed the previous, while Elkington finished bogey-bogey, leaving both players at -9. Three shots back.
Zach Johnson only had one birdie in his final seven holes. McIlroy bogeyed the 15th and didn’t birdie the par-5 16th. They both finished at -10. Two shots back.
Kaymer birdied the 15th and made a crucial par putt on the 72nd hole to match Watson, who played the back-nine in two-under-par. Together, they held the clubhouse lead at -11. One shot back.
That leaves Dustin Johnson.
Johnson had a one shot lead [at -12] going to the 18th hole. He was four easy shots away from winning his first major championship. Just hit the fairway, get to the green, two putt, and the tourney’s over.
But, of course, this is a major championship, and it wouldn’t be right for it to end like that. Johnson’s tee-shot ended outside the ropes. His second shot ended in the deep rough near the green. He would two-putt for bogey.
And we have a three way tie for first at -11.
But of course, the golfing gods didn’t want the sudden death to start. Not yet, anyway.
Instead, Johnson’s 72nd-hole bogey turned into a triple bogey, making him fall to -9, completely out of the playoff.
Why? Well, his tee-shot on the 18th landed in some sand. He grounded his club before he took his swing.
In a bunker, that’s a two-stroke penalty. Johnson didn’t realized he was in a bunker. If he did, I’m 100% sure he wouldn’t have grounded.
But it was a bunker. A questionable bunker. A bunker that thousands of spectators walked in and out of all week. A bunker these same people where standing in while he was taking his shot. A bunker that really didn’t look like a bunker. A bunker that Johnson didn’t realize was a bunker.
If you have to be told you are standing in a bunker, you are not really standing in a bunker.
But it was a bunker. And Johnson grounded. No play-off for him. And his hopes for a major title will have to wait another year.
Unfortunately for Kaymer, who would end up beating Watson in a three-hole, back-and-forth playoff, this tournament won’t be 100% all about him.
Instead, it’s going to be about: was the PGA fair to Johnson? Did he get screwed?
Some will say yes. Some will say no.
But that’s the beauty of sports. That’s the beauty of the final round of a major championship in golf. You don’t know what to expect. Had Johnson just hit his tee-shot in the fairway, none of this would have ever happened.
But it did happened. And yes, I think that Johnson was cheated out of something special [how in that heck was that a bunker?], but he handled the situation with class. Lots of class. Armando Galarraga-like class.
And it’s people like these two men who make the sports world a better place. Yes, the PGA Tour has had three 59s this season and MLB has had five no-hitters, but together, these two leagues each have at least ONE class act.
Neither player got their happily-ever-after endings, but they displayed such professional maturity and class that they should be awarded just for that.
It’s unfortunate. But it’s life. And life sometimes ain’t fair.
Now, we just have to all move on.
Just like these two professional athletes did.
[P.S. Congrats to Kaymer for his first major victory! And h/t to Jason Sobel for the idea of this post.]
Bull Point Pen 