The big news from an Irish point of view is that Shane Lowry will have to wait a little bit longer before joining the storied list of Irish major winners. You'd do well to find an Irish golf fan who'd bet against him ending that situation at some stage over the next few years but, unfortunately, Oakmont 2016 didn't give us the jubilant scenes that we were all expecting.
Instead of Irish eyes smiling, it was redemption for Dustin Johnson. After quite a few near misses and just as many off-course headlines, it was due time (if we ignore how much we didn't want to see it last night) that DJ put it all behind him with a round worthy of a major win. But that's to say it came without some controversy.
While we may well be concentrating on Lowry, the rest of the golfing world is concentrating on a USGA ruling that could have resulted in an even bigger farce than it already has. In case you haven't seen it already, here it is.
On the fifth green, Johnson lined up a short putt. He took a couple of practice putts, eventually moved to address the ball but before he grounded the putter, the ball moved backwards ever so slightly. He stepped away, told playing partner Lee Westwood what had happened, a rules official was called in and it appeared accepted that Johnson had not caused the ball to move as he hadn't grounded the putter.
All well and good but, on the twelfth tee box, Johnson was informed that the footage had been poured over and that that he would have to take a look before signing his scorecard. However, he wasn't allowed to review the footage there and then. Instead, he was forced to continue the round without knowing what he actually had to do to take the title.
Eventually, when signing for his score, Johnson did accept the penalty. However, you'd have to wonder how the situation would have played out had the margin of victory been a single shot instead of the original five.
It's fair to say that, along with the vast majority of fans, Johnson's fellow professionals didn't take too kindly to the ruling or how it was handled.
This is ridiculous... No penalty whatsoever for DJ. Let the guy play without this crap in his head. Amateur hour from @USGA
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 19, 2016
This isn't right for anyone on that golf course. If it was me I wouldn't hit another shot until this farce was rectified.
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 19, 2016
Lemme get this straight.. DJ doesn't address it. It's ruled that he didn't cause it to move. Now you tell him he may have? Now? This a joke?
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) June 19, 2016
.@JordanSpieth @McIlroyRory w/ you boys! The fact that the @usga thinks that DJ caused the ball to move is completely ridiculous! Laughable!
— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowler) June 19, 2016
Hey @usopengolf @USGA do not make the mistake of penalizing Dustin, he did NOTHING to cause ball to move.
— Webb Simpson (@webbsimpson1) June 19, 2016
That rule HAS TO change @USGA, PLEASE!
— Webb Simpson (@webbsimpson1) June 19, 2016
No way DJ gets a penalty. Use some common sense @usga The greens are running 14 and are sloppier than Mount Everest
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) June 19, 2016
As unanimous a decision of 'pure and utter bullshit' as you're ever likely to get in the muddy world of golf's seemingly ever-ambiguous rulebook.
