Dustin Johnson’s bunker disaster at Shinnecock might have just ended his US Open

Dustin Johnson walked to the 15th hole at Shinnecock Hills on Friday at even par. He had a real shot at making the cut. Then the bunkers happened.

Johnson’s first attempt out of the sand on No. 15 was ugly. The ball smacked into the hill short of the green and rolled right back into the bunker at his feet. He still had a chance to limit the damage, but his next shot flew the green entirely. It was that kind of day.

The sequence was brutal enough that the US Open’s official Twitter account shared the video, and it spread fast. Johnson finished the second round at 7-over, putting him at 3-over for the tournament. The projected cut line was 2-over at the time, meaning DJ is likely heading home early.

Shinnecock Hills is not a course that lets you recover from mistakes easily. It chewed up Scottie Scheffler too, and he’s the best player in the world right now. The bunkers here are deep, the greens are firm, and the wind does whatever it wants. Johnson just got caught in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

Golf is funny that way. You can be cruising along, thinking you’ve got it figured out, and then one hole flips everything. Johnson looked like he might settle in after a rough start, and then 15 happened.

Who’s still in the mix

As Johnson struggles, Wyndham Clark is sitting pretty at 7-under and leading the field. Rory McIlroy is hanging around near the top too, playing solid golf after that Masters win earlier this year. Clark has been steady, and at a place like Shinnecock, steady wins.

Friday’s second round still has plenty of action left. The leaderboard could shift a lot before the day ends. But for Johnson, the story is already written. He’ll be watching the weekend from home, probably thinking about those two swings out of the sand.

Shinnecock’s bunkers have a way of getting into your head. They got into DJ’s today, and there was no climbing out.