How a preposterous rules violation helped Dustin Johnson win the U.S. Open

In the end, Dustin Johnson's rules controversy was a moot point (which is why I think the penalty was eventually assessed; the USGA wasn't going to change the result of its championship with a 19th-hole review). Except for one thing - I don't think it was moot at all. Dustin Johnson seemed to be helped by the absurdity of the rules challenge, like it gave him a new state of mind down the stretch, one that shoved aside all the thoughts and feelings of blown tournaments past.

Shooting over 80 with a big lead at Pebble. The penalty in the PGA Championship. Missing a putt to win last year's Open and then choking the comebacker that would have forced a playoff. Those memories don't go away. But they can be ignored en route to being overcome.

(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

That's why a distraction, no matter how frightening or penal, might have been the best thing for him. This is only conjecture. Johnson didn't say this in his post-round interview with Joe Buck, he probably won't say it in his press conference. Heck, he might not even know it.

If Dustin Johnson knew why he failed so many times on Grand Slam Sundays, he'd have fixed it by now. So would have Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie and all the other players who've gotten tight when the stakes were the biggest. It's an uncontrollable feeling that bubbles up from the subconscious and one that's calmed through the same means. Tension becomes a distraction. To vanquish it, you have to distract yourself from the distraction.

So when that USGA official walked up to Johnson with seven holes to play and told him about a penalty that might have occurred on the fifth green, it gave DJ something new to occupy his mind. Whatever he felt at that moment - anger, panic, worry, calm, a desire to tell the USGA to, as Rory McIlroy tweeted, "take that" - suddenly took over.

Such news could have been disastrous. Many players would have fallen apart upon hearing that news or played tentatively with the uncertainty they would inevitably face at the end of the round. But for whatever reason, Johnson, who had gotten tight with the final-round lead in majors on numerous occasions, loosened. The threatened, and likely, penalty didn't phase him. Johnson didn't panic when he had a typical Oakmont bogey on No. 14. He kept it consistent when the leaderboard suddenly looked bad for a guy with a one-shot penalty looming. Dustin Johnson was calmer than you are.

(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Looks can be deceiving. Even when he was blowing big leads or getting penalties he actually deserved, DJ's outward demeanor would rarely, if ever, change. He still looked like the coolest kid on the course, walking with a swagger completely at odds with the chaos that was currently surrounding him. The only sign that the pressure was getting to Dustin Johnson was the very clear evidence that the pressure was getting to Dustin Johnson.

If you've ever been anxious in your life, you know how strange the whole thing can be. It's not rational, but it's hard to rein in. A guy who gets tight on the golf course knows perfectly well that he should be calm while continuing to play as if nothing is on the line. But fear isn't rational. You don't know when, where or why it will strike. Maybe Johnson was going to overcome that this year. Or maybe it was a hole or two away from happening again.

(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Either way, even if my theory is completely wrong, there's an undeniable element to it: Johnson had a new diversion at a moment when his mind and body are usually occupied with the unbearable feeling of helplessness. After it happened, Johnson played the best he's ever played with a lead in a major. Causation doesn't equal correlation, but it certainly provides an interesting wrinkle to an unknowable question.

Dustin Johnson didn't win because of the USGA's screwed-up rules system or misplaced sense of fairness. He didn't win because his "choke" synpases were replaced with "I'll show them" firings. He didn't win because he was able to put aside his past disappointments. Everything was still there, after all. No, Dustin Johnson won because he was the best golfer for 72 holes. But in a game as mental as golf, any little thing can help.

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