Jordan Spieth would have ‘thrown a fit’ over Dustin Johnson U.S. Open penalty

Jordan Spieth is with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on the whole Dustin Johnson-USGA U.S. Open debacle. Not one to hide his emotions inside the ropes, Spieth would have given officials an earful had they pulled on him the shenanigans that DJ calmly played through on his way to victory 10 days ago at Oakmont.

And then, Spieth said Tuesday, he would have ground the proceedings to a halt.

“I would have thrown a fit. I promise you, I would have thrown a fit,” the world No. 2 told reporters at Firestone Country Club in advance of this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “I wouldn’t have hit another shot. I would have sat there like, ‘This is not the way this goes. Let’s figure this out right now.’

“You can’t have a potential penalty or not,” he added. “You’ve got to know in that case.”

Spieth was one of many high-profile players, including Woods and McIlroy, who used Twitter to register their anger as the fiasco began to unfold shortly after DJ made the turn in the contest’s final round. The 22-year-old eight-time PGA Tour winner echoed what McIlroy tweeted during the finale.

Woods, like Spieth, suggested he would have been a tad livid under similar circumstances that caused confusion and outrage across the golf world.

“I’m a little bit feistier than Dustin,” Woods said last week ahead of his Quicken Loans National, “so I probably would have said a few things during the round.”

The incident occurred when two USGA officials informed Johnson on the 12th tee that he might be docked a stroke for causing his ball to move on the fifth green. This, after the rules official accompanying Johnson’s group assessed no penalty because he agreed the player was not culpable for the movement on the slick, slippery greens.

“It was frustrating to watch how it was handled because that championship being our national title ... deserved a better handling of the situation,” Woods said. “I didn’t think it was fair to … Dustin, it wasn’t fair to other players who had a chance.”

While Spieth and a group of fellow professionals expressed their displeasure via text messages, Johnson seemed unfazed by the hoopla that had him and everyone else guessing what his actual score was. Despite the distraction, DJ carded a three-shot victory that included the one-stroke penalty he incurred.

USGA executive director Mike Davis appeared on Golf Channel to ask for a “mulligan” on his organization’s actions, though not for the penalty itself, a determination Spieth and others believe the rules tsars blew.

“I think that it was unfortunate the way it then played out, and they agree, and they said that,” said Spieth. “And I think that what Dustin did was extremely special given that circumstance.”

Spieth, who won last year’s U.S. Open when DJ three-putted the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay, expressed admiration for the calmness Johnson displayed down the stretch.

“I thought it was extremely special given everything that’s been hanging over him,” Spieth said. “That wasn’t easy, and he stepped up.”