My letter to the USGA

Dear USGA:

You quote the text from the rule, but the question is: “who makes the decision?” Like the majority of golfers, I believe it is the player. Dustin Johnson said he didn’t cause the ball to move. That should have been the end of it. It’s unnecessary for the USGA to insert itself into the process. Golfers play the game based on the rules the USGA and the R&A set out. The USGA should stay out of the process unless the violation was due to a misunderstanding of the relevant rule. In this case Dustin Johnson understood the rule and had he felt he caused the ball to move would have called a penalty on himself. In this particular case the USGA was in no position to gainsay him. By your actions you inserted controversy where none should have existed. And in the end, given your own statement regarding the rule, the USGA was in no position to make the determination it made.

The USGA should follow a simple rule with respect to its tournaments: Be neither seen nor heard. Of late the USGA has tried to put itself out in front of the event and the players—appearing in the broadcast booth and inserting itself into situations like the one on Sunday. This is the area where the USGA should consider if it is acting properly.