Golf is a game of inches, but sometimes it’s a game of millimeters and a few grains of sand. If you look back at the 2010 US PGA Championship, you aren't just looking at a leaderboard; you’re looking at one of the most controversial, heartbreaking, and frankly confusing finishes in the history of the sport. It was the year Martin Kaymer truly arrived on the global stage, winning his first major, but let's be real—most people remember it for what happened in a patch of dirt on the 18th hole.
Whistling Straits is a beast. Pete Dye designed it to look like a piece of Ireland was dropped onto the coast of Lake Michigan, and in 2010, the course was famously home to over 1,000 bunkers. Yes, over a thousand. Some were the size of a swimming pool, others were barely larger than a dinner plate. This bizarre landscape set the stage for a rules controversy that still gets debated in 19th holes across the country today.
The Bunker That Wasn't a Bunker (But Actually Was)
Dustin Johnson stepped onto the 18th tee on Sunday with a one-shot lead. He was young, incredibly powerful, and looking like the next big thing in American golf. He pushed his drive right, into a crowd of fans standing in a sandy area. To the naked eye, and to DJ himself, it looked like a "waste area"—a place where fans walk and you can ground your club.
He grounded his club.
The problem was a local rule. Because Whistling Straits has so many sandy patches, the PGA of America posted notices in the locker room and on the first tee stating that all sandy areas, even those outside the ropes with fans standing in them, were to be played as hazards.
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By the time DJ tapped in for what he thought was a par to win or get into a playoff, the officials were already moving in. It was gut-wrenching. One moment he’s a major champion, the next he’s assessed a two-stroke penalty, dropping him to a tie for fifth. It changed the trajectory of his career for years. He had to wait until 2016 to finally get that monkey off his back at Oakmont.
Bubba, Kaymer, and the Playoff Nobody Expected
While the world was reeling from the DJ drama, two guys were still out there trying to win a golf tournament. Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson ended up in a three-hole aggregate playoff. It was a clash of styles. You had Kaymer, the methodical, stoic German whose game was built on precision and logic. Then you had Bubba, the self-taught lefty from Florida who creates shots that shouldn't exist in physics.
They played the 10th, 17th, and 18th holes.
Kaymer showed incredible nerves. On the final playoff hole (the 18th), Bubba tried to go for the green in two from the rough, but he ended up in the water. It was a classic "Live by the Bubba, die by the Bubba" moment. Kaymer played it smart, took his par, and became the second German to win a major after Bernhard Langer. It’s easy to forget how dominant Kaymer was during this stretch; he would soon after become World Number One.
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The Scoring Surge and the Conditions
The weather that week was actually pretty benign for Lake Michigan. Usually, the wind howls off the water, but for much of the 2010 US PGA Championship, the scoring was low. Nick Watney held the lead for a while, but he collapsed on Sunday with an 81. Rory McIlroy, just 21 at the time, was right there too. He finished just one shot out of the playoff. If Rory makes one more putt, or if DJ doesn't ground his club, the entire history of 2010s golf looks different.
Why We Still Talk About Whistling Straits
What makes this specific tournament stick in the craw of golf fans? It's the technicality. People hate seeing championships decided by a rulebook rather than a scoreboard. The PGA of America tried to be proactive by putting up those notices about the bunkers, but critics argued that if a fan is standing in a "bunker" with a beer in their hand, it’s no longer a hazard in the spirit of the game.
It also highlighted the "bomb and gouge" era. This was the tournament where we realized that guys like Johnson and Watson could overpower even the most difficult courses. They weren't playing the same game as the guys from the 70s and 80s.
Key Stats from the Leaderboard
- Martin Kaymer: 277 (-11) - Won in playoff
- Bubba Watson: 277 (-11)
- Rory McIlroy: 278 (-10)
- Zach Johnson: 278 (-10)
- Dustin Johnson: 279 (-9) - After penalty
Honestly, the 2010 PGA Championship was a bit of a turning point. It was the end of the "Tiger dominance" era—Tiger finished T28 that week and was dealing with the fallout of his personal life and swing changes—and the beginning of a much more wide-open, international field.
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The Lasting Legacy of the "Bunker Gate"
If you visit Whistling Straits today, caddies will still point out that specific patch of sand on the 18th hole. It’s a monument to the importance of reading the memo. It also forced the governing bodies to look at how they define hazards. In recent years, rules have been modernized to be more "common sense," though many would argue they haven't gone far enough.
The 2010 US PGA Championship wasn't just a golf tournament; it was a drama. It had a villain (the rules), a tragic hero (DJ), and a steady protagonist (Kaymer). It showed that in golf, your greatest enemy isn't always the guy you're playing against. Sometimes, it’s your own club touching a bit of dirt that you didn't think mattered.
Lessons for the Modern Golfer
If you're looking for an actionable takeaway from the mess at Whistling Straits, it's pretty simple: Read the local rules. Whether you're playing in a Saturday morning scramble or the US PGA Championship, the "Conditions of Competition" matter.
- Always check the starter's hut: They usually have a sheet detailing what is and isn't a hazard.
- When in doubt, don't ground it: If you're in a sandy area and aren't 100% sure if it's a waste area or a bunker, keep that club off the ground. It’s better to be safe than to lose two strokes.
- Mental Resilience: Look at how Dustin Johnson handled it. He didn't scream, he didn't throw a tantrum. He walked off, took the hit, and eventually became a multi-major winner.
The 2010 US PGA Championship remains a masterclass in how quickly a sure thing can vanish. It’s a reminder that the game is played until the final putt drops—and sometimes, until the final scorecard is signed and the rules officials have had their say. For anyone who loves the sport, it remains one of the most compelling, if heartbreaking, weeks in the history of the professional game.