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What’S A “Bunker”?: The Curious Case Of How Dustin Johnson Lost The 2010 Pga Championship And Why The Pga Must Revise The Now Infamous Local Rule At Whistling Straights, Brian Pelanda
Brian Pelanda
This article discusses the problematic rule at the heart of the historic controversy that surrounded the 2010 PGA Championship and cost Dustin Johnson an opportunity to enter a playoff to contend for the tournament’s $1.35 million grand prize. I employ general principles of statutory construction to demonstrate how the unique Local Rule that the PGA implemented for the tournament at Whistling Straights impermissibly altered the definition of a sand bunker under the Official Rules of Golf. This issue is important not just because of how the problematic Local Rule harmed Dustin Johnson, but also because the PGA has insisted that …