The United States Golf Association is admitting to very little in relation to the Dustin Johnson one-shot penalty in the June 19 final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pa.

In a release sent to its membership June 20, it concedes that the delay in making that ruling caused a “distraction,” and “created unnecessary ambiguity for Dustin and other players, as well as spectators on-site and those watching and listening on television and digital channels.”

So, the fact that USGA officials had ruled that Johnson was responsible for his ball moving on the fifth green, but did not inform Johnson until he was on the 12th tee, and did not let the world know until the tournament was over, meant that millions of TV viewers were in the dark about the one-stroke penalty which had been assessed to the 2016 U.S. Open champion, who wound up winning the title by three strokes instead of four. We can only imagine what USGA members and golf fans in general would have been saying if that penalty had cost Johnson the championship.

As it is, there are USGA members who are quitting the organization because of the manner in which the Johnson ruling was administered.

Ron Bibeau, executive director of The First Tee of Maine and secretary of the New England Chapter of the PGA, was frank to admit the USGA had fumbled the ball on its penalty decision.

“It was a travesty,” Bibeau said. “I watched and never saw any evidence of him moving the ball. Kudos to him for keeping it together. I’ve never rooted for a golfer more than I rooted for him. I thought the ruling was horrible.”

Because no one except Johnson saw the ball move live on the TV replay, Johnson’s practice putts and tamping the ground with his putter behind the ball was evident, but his club was nowhere near the ball when it actually moved a small fraction of an inch.

Randy Hodsdon, the Maine State Golf Association’s director of rules and competitions, is perhaps the Pine Tree State’s foremost authority on the rules of golf.

“The process fell apart,” Hodsdon said. “It was a question of: Did the tapping cause the ball to move?”

It is clear that no one was certain about what made the ball move, but the USGA used its rule 18-2/0.5 to make its decision. That rule says: “If the weight of the 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 a one-stroke penalty under rule 18-2 and the ball must be replaced.”

This smacks of the player being guilty until his innocence is proven, or at least being guilty by association.

Nancy Storey, executive director of the MSGA, said: “The rule changed this year. They had to be careful because the rule had not been put to the test.”

The problem with the way the USGA handled the penalty was that almost no one knew about this decision, until the Johnson score was changed from -5 to -4 after the tournament had concluded. FOX pays the USGA millions of dollars a year for the right to televise the U.S. Open, and the network cannot be told about the implementation of a one-shot penalty? Booth analyst Paul Azinger was correct to criticize the USGA on this.

Only the great finish by Dustin Johnson prevented this from becoming a public relations nightmare.

The USGA is accepting comments from the golf public. Rank and file players and fans can make their feelings on this known. For this purpose, messages can be emailed to comments@usga.org or by using its telephone mailbox at 908-326-1857.

MSGA Amateur set

The field of 132 players for the Maine State Golf Association Amateur championship is set for the York Golf & Tennis Club July 12-14.

A total of 66 exempt players will be in the field, including last year’s champion, Johnny Hayes IV. In addition, there will be four other past champions which includes Andrew Slattery of Martindale, two-time former titlist Ron Brown (1975-1999, three-time former crown winner Ricky Jones (2003-2004-2013), and 13-time State Am winner Rod Plummer (1973-1976-1982-1983-1984-1986-1989-1994-2000-2001-2002).

The field includes 14 players who qualified June 23 at Penobscot Valley, 29 who qualified June 21 at Poland Spring and 33 who made it on June 16 at Biddeford-Saco.

MSGA taking a break

The MSGA will be enjoying a break Fourth of July Weekend from its traditional weekend scheduling. That said, it still is a busy MSGA week, with its Junior Tour being held June 28 at Biddeford-Saco, June 29 at Belgrade Lakes and June 30 at The Woodlands. It also is conducting its Senior Club Team Championship June 28 at Boothbay Harbor and its Mid-Week Tournament June 20 at Waterville.