DUSTIN JOHNSON survived a mind-numbing rules fiasco and conquered the toughest course on the planet to claim his first major title at the US Open.
Johnson had to play the final seven holes at Oakmont with the threat of a one-shot penalty hanging over him for a possible rules infringement, but still powered to a three-shot victory.
Fellow players, including major champions Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, blasted the US Golf Association for informing Johnson he would face trial by TV at the end of the final round, instead of dealing with the issue on the spot.
The players were unanimous that Johnson had done nothing wrong when he backed away from a putt on the fifth hole, and he was given the all-clear by the official walking with the group.
But as he stood on the 12th tee – having overturned Shane Lowry’s four-shot lead to move two clear of the field – Johnson was told he would he would have to head to the control room when the round was over, to check whether he was guilty of a rules infringement.
That would have scrambled many player’s heads. But Johnson sucked it up, kept grinding out pars while his rivals were making mistakes all around him, and made the possibility of a penalty irrelevant with a brilliant final hole birdie.
The American said: “It’s the best Father’s Day ever. Winning hasn’t sunk in yet.
“I just focused on what I was doing, not worrying about that penalty shot.
“At that point I just tried to deal with it when it was done. I was playing good, so I just focused and it didn’t bother me.
“I knew when they walked up on the 12th tee…They had been watching in the trailer. but who cares, it doesn’t matter any more, right?
“I just needed to stay focused, hit fairways and hit greens. I just stuck to to my golf plan.”
USGA rules official Jeff Hall defended the process that resulted in Johnson’s one-shot penalty.
He told Sky Sports: “We evaluated the video and discussed it with Dustin and were comfortable that those actions were what caused the ball to move and, as a result, he was penalised one stroke.
“I was out on the golf course shadowing the last few groups when a member of staff said I should come in and have a look at the video.
“We did and the decision that we dealt with lays out a couple of different factors that need to be evaluated.
“We wanted to talk to Dustin about it and by the time we were able to do that it was the 12th tee.
“We had a conversation with Dustin and that we were concerned about the actions near the golf ball and there might be a penalty.
“We asked him the question: ‘Was there something else that could have caused the ball to move?’
“It was apparent that it was going to be a protracted discussion and we said the best thing was to have him take a look at the video so that he had the benefit of seeing what we saw when the round was over.
“But we wanted to let him know that there was the possibility that it could be a penalty stroke.
“It’s a tough situation, we did the best that we could and we feel comfortable with the process we have in place.”
The USGA continued to confound everyone else in golf by actually imposing a one-shot penalty after consulting with their new champion – not that it made the slightest difference to the result.
It just meant Johnson signed for a final round 69 instead of a 68, and after a succession of heart-breaking near misses – including a fatal three-putt when he had one hand on the trophy last year – Johnson finally took his place on the list of major champions.
As he celebrated, Johnson admitted: “After everything that has happened to me in all these majors there is always a little voice in the back of your mind saying, ‘Is it going to happen?'”
Lowry’s big lead was wiped out before he had even completed the front nine, as he frittered away shots and Johnson threw a couple of birdies at him.
Lowry, 29, eventually slumped to a 76, sharing second place with two more Americans, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy.
This was his first time in the rarified atmosphere of ajor championship contention, and he will know a lot more about what to expect next time he finds himself in that position.
But it is the mid-round controversy that will live longest in the mind – and brought howls of protest from Johnson’s fellow players.
McIlroy, watching at home after missing the cut, vented his disgust on Twitter, saying: “This is ridiculous. No penalty whatsoever for DJ. Let the guy play without this c**p in his head. Amateur hour from USGA.”
“Have you seen how much these putts are breaking USGA? The green speed and slope caused the ball to move. Now move on.”
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Ernie Els, who won the first of his two US Open titles at Oakmont in 1994, also felt Johnson had done nothing wrong.
He tweeted: “The USGA’s treatment of Dustin Johnson is absolutely shocking . No way DJ made the ball move. Absolutely shocking.”
Graeme McDowell first urged officials to make a quick decision and then said: “The USPGA are creating an incredibly anti-climatic scenario here during what should be an incredibly dramatic back nine on Sunday. Sort it.”
And cricket legend Ian Botham also chipped in, commenting: “I just hope it’s not trial by TV. Make a decision USGA officials. We are talking about golfers who penalise themselves, as we’ve seen!”
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