FOX Sports’ 116th U.S. Open Championship Final Round Highlights
Almost one year to a day that saw his 2015 U.S. Open end in heartbreak at the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay, Dustin Johnson won his first career major championship at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday, punctuating a final-round 69 with a birdie on the 18th hole to clinch the national title. Johnson’s memorable victory was not without drama as a controversial rules violation early in his final round threatened to cost him a critical shot and loomed large over the final hours of the event late in the day.
FOX Sports presented more than 11 hours of final-round coverage Sunday, capping its second presentation of the U.S. Open Championship by documenting yet another exhilarating finish. Highlights from today’s telecast include:
Quotes:
Lead analyst Paul Azinger on Dustin Johnson’s demeanor following the controversial penalty discussion that occurred during his final round: “That was a real weird stretch there when we didn’t know where Dustin stood. I got the sense, and Jeff Hall kind of alluded to this, that Dustin was always going to get this penalty Just imagine if you put yourself in their spots, how would you have dealt with that? I think Dustin Johnson really felt like he didn’t do anything to cause a penalty and I think that freed him up a little bit. You can only control the controllables in this game, but after what happened last year, it’s weird, isn’t it? The urge to compete is in direct conflict to the anxiety that comes with putting yourself in that spot. It’s a major conflict and Dustin Johnson was willing to stick his neck out again. And he’s done it time and time again. It’s a heck of an achievement for him to pull this off, especially after what happened last year.”
FOX Sports’ USGA rules expert David Fay explains the details of the penalty assessed to Johnson: “Here’s the operative sentence in the decision that [USGA Managing Director of Rules & competition] Jeff Hall was talking about, it reads as follows: ‘If the weight of evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the player caused the ball to move, even though that conclusion is not free from doubt, the player incurs the penalty.’ That’s always been the case in the game of golf. Now, the modification to this particular ball at rest moved, in the new language, it says that you have to consider each case on its own merits. For example, can wind blow it? That’s something new. We saw earlier today that Romain Wattel was in the same situation somewhat on the second hole, and they considered all the evidence and concluded that there was no penalty. I hate to say, but it is a tough situation. I think the one question that might be asked is, if you gathered this and knew about this doubtful situation sometime shortly after the play of the fifth hole, why did it take so long? As a player, do you want to know that there’s a potential doubtful situation sooner rather than later?”
Analyst Brad Faxon on Johnson’s resilience during the final stretch of the championship: “There’s right in this world, isn’t there? It really is redemption from last year and there is no player out here that deserves it more than Dustin Johnson. In that situation, he just had the mental fortitude to just stay with it. You know the tagline, its cliché but, ‘Stay in the present.’ He did it better than anybody did this whole week.”
Azinger on whether or not he thinks this is the first of several majors to be won by Dustin Johnson: “You can bet he’ll be in contention again. The guy can overpower a golf course, he has great finesse and I’m sure he still wants to be a better putter. But there’s no shortcut to what he’s done here; it’s hard work, and again, he is willing to stick his neck out. I’m not exactly sure what he said when the USGA told him they were going to give him a penalty, but I am pretty sure it was [probably something] like, ‘I don’t give a ‘bleep!’ So, good for Dustin Johnson, because that was a hard-earned victory.”
Azinger on Johnson closing out the championship after years of near-misses: “He did. He made a great putt on No. 16 , which was no easy thing. He made a good par on No. 17 and then that birdie on 18, that’s the shot of his life there on No. 18 (second shot). The sky is the limit now for him. It took Tom Watson a long time to learn how to win and [Phil] Mickelson, too. And Dustin Johnson did it today.”
Special Feature Elements From Sunday’s Broadcast:
· Legendary golfer and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus joined Joe Buck, Paul Azinger and Brad Faxon in the 18th Tower. Nicklaus discussed his own conquest at Oakmont in 1962, the current state of the course and his impression of the depth of contending players in today’s game. See the full interview clip HERE.
· During the peak of today’s rules controversy, Buck led a segment that included reactionary tweets from some of golf’s top professional players, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. The full clip of the segment can be seen HERE.
· After a determination had been made that Johnson would be penalized, two USGA rules officials joined Shane Bacon in the clubhouse, explaining the ruling and detailing the process by which they came to the decision. The full interview can be seen HERE.
