On Sunday, Fathers Day, Dustin Johnson was finally able to make it across the finish line in a major tournament. He is supremely talented and has been close to winning in several Majors in the recent past. His first good chance to win a Major was in the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, but he struggled in the final round.
At the PGA Championship in 2010, Dustin had to deal with his first PGA rule fiasco. He should've been in the playoffs to win the tournament, but he was denied this chance, because the rules officials determined he had grounded his club in a bunker on the last hole of the championship. With the crowd moving all over the course that week at Whistling Straits golf course, it was near impossible to determine what a bunker was and was not.
This weeks ruling was completely different, but just as controversial. During the last round on the fifth hole, Dustin had a putt for a birdie. The ball seemed to move when he was about to hit the putt because he was taking his practice swings really close to the ball. In this case, the rules official initially thought he had not caused the ball to move.
However, they later decided to review the prior ruling and only told Dustin on the 12th hole that they were still looking at the issue. At the time he was in the lead by two shots. So Dustin had to play the last 6 holes not knowing whether he would suffer a penalty stroke or not. It would have been a lot easier if they had just given him the penalty stroke right off the bat.
The good thing for Dustin was the fact that in the end he won by three shots, so the penalty shot stroke did not matter. They should be forced to make the decision right at the hole and live with it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship in a very dramatic seventh game. They are the first team in NBA history to come all the way back from being down 3-1 in a final series to win the title. I am very happy for Cleveland as a city. They broke a 52 year championship drought. I really hope that LeBron James stays in Cleveland for the foreseeable future, and does not sell out and go to another team after one championship. That would be really lame on his part.
Even though the Golden State Warriors did not win the championship, it was still an amazing season to watch them set the all-time record for wins in a season. I think it is strange scheduling by the NBA to not even have a week break before the draft, but that is only my opinion from the sidelines.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
