Oakmont is a beast. Anyone who has ever stepped onto those grounds in Pennsylvania knows the greens aren't just fast—they’re terrifying. But back in 2016, the USGA managed to make the course look easy compared to the bureaucratic nightmare they created on Sunday afternoon. If you followed the 2016 US Open golf tournament, you don’t remember it for the lush fairways or the tricky bunkers. You remember it because nobody knew what the score was for two hours.
Dustin Johnson won. He finally got his major. But man, did they make him work for it in the weirdest way possible.
The story starts on the fifth green during the final round. DJ is over a par putt. He’s looking at it. He hasn't addressed the ball yet. Suddenly, the ball flickers. It moves maybe a fraction of an inch. Johnson backs off, talks to the walking official, and is told there’s no penalty. He plays on. Everyone thinks we're good. Except we weren't.
The USGA’s Mid-Round Ruling Disaster
About seven holes later, a USGA official approaches Dustin on the 12th tee. Imagine this. You’re trying to win the hardest tournament in the world, and a guy in a blue blazer tells you that you might have a penalty stroke coming, but they won't decide until the round is over. Basically, "Hey DJ, you might be leading by two, or maybe just one, or maybe it's a tie. We’ll let you know in an hour or two. Good luck with those 190-yard approach shots!"
It was chaos. Pure, unadulterated sports chaos.
Social media went nuclear. Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler—who were already finished or watching from the locker room—started blasting the USGA on Twitter. They called it "amateur hour." And honestly? It was. You cannot have a professional sport where the scoreboard is "to be determined" while the leaders are coming down the stretch. It’s like a referee in the Super Bowl saying a touchdown might not count, but they’ll check the replay after the trophy presentation.
Lee Westwood was playing with DJ and he was adamant the ball didn't move because of anything Dustin did. Oakmont’s greens were stimping at like a 14 or 15. A heavy breath could move a ball on those slopes.
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Dustin Johnson’s Zen-Like Resilience
Most players would have crumbled. DJ is built different. He has this incredible ability to just... forget things. He's famously "short-memory" Dustin. He stepped up to the 18th hole—the hardest finishing hole in golf—knowing he probably needed a cushion just in case the USGA suits decided to screw him over.
He hit one of the best shots in the history of the championship.
A 190-yard 6-iron. It tracked the hole the whole way. It landed soft and stopped five feet from the cup. He buried the birdie putt. Even with the eventual one-stroke penalty they tacked on in the scoring tent, he won by three. He rendered the USGA’s incompetence irrelevant.
The official final score showed Dustin at 4-under par. Shane Lowry, who started the day with a four-shot lead, absolutely collapsed. He shot a 76. It was painful to watch. Lowry is a world-class talent, but Oakmont in a final round is a meat grinder that doesn't care about your feelings or your lead.
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What People Forget About Oakmont 2016
Everyone talks about the penalty, but the weather was actually the biggest factor early on. The tournament was a scheduling nightmare from Thursday. Massive storms rolled through. The greens were soft one minute and lightning fast the next.
- Andrew Landry: Remember him? The guy was a qualifier and led after the first round with a 66. It was a Cinderella story that lasted until Sunday when the course finally caught up to him.
- The Greens: They are legendary. There are no trees at Oakmont anymore—they cut them all down years ago—so the wind just whips across the property.
- The Rough: It wasn't just grass; it was a dense, wire-like trap. If you missed the fairway by three yards, you were hacking out sideways.
The 2016 US Open golf championship was supposed to be the ultimate test of skill. Instead, it became a test of patience.
The USGA eventually apologized. Sort of. They changed the rules later that year so that if a ball moves on the green and it's "virtually certain" the player didn't cause it, there’s no penalty. They called it Local Rule (and later a permanent change). We can thank DJ’s headache for that bit of progress.
Why the 2016 US Open Golf Results Matter Today
If DJ doesn't win that tournament, his whole career trajectory looks different. He was the guy who "couldn't win the big one." He’d had the heartbreak at Whistling Straits with the bunker. He’d had the 3-putt at Chambers Bay. If he loses Oakmont because of a controversial penalty, he might have been mentally broken.
Instead, he became a Hall of Famer.
Looking back, the leaderboard was stacked. Scott Piercy and Jim Furyk tied for second. Furyk, the veteran, just kept grinding, showing that at Oakmont, par is your best friend. Branden Grace was right there too. But none of them had the firepower DJ showed on that back nine.
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The 2016 US Open golf event proved that even the most prestigious organizations in sports can trip over their own feet. It also proved that sometimes, pure talent and a "don't care" attitude can overcome bad officiating.
Actionable Takeaways for Golf Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to dive deeper into why this tournament changed the game, here is what you should do next:
- Study the Rules Change: Look up USGA Rule 13.1f. This is the direct result of the Dustin Johnson incident. It’s a rare case of a single tournament forcing a governing body to rewrite the book mid-season.
- Watch the 18th Hole Replay: Go to YouTube and find the broadcast of DJ’s approach shot on 18. Pay attention to the silence of the crowd before the ball lands. It is a masterclass in pressure.
- Review Oakmont’s Layout: If you ever get the chance to play it (or even just walk it during a future event), look at the 5th green. You’ll see exactly how easy it is for a ball to move on its own.
- Compare Scorecards: Look at Shane Lowry’s front nine versus his back nine. It’s a sobering reminder of how quickly a US Open lead can evaporate when the pressure builds.
The 2016 US Open golf championship remains a landmark moment. It wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't fair in the moment, but it gave us one of the most dominant displays of golf under duress we have ever seen.