econd straight national championship, a rules infraction captured by the high-powered

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LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Brittany Langs husband, Kevin Spann, walked into the media center with his wife at the U.S. Womens Open late Sunday afternoon, eager to borrow a reporters charger for his dying smartphone.I think Ive gotten about 600 texts, Spann said.It was the kind of day people would be discussing for a long time.This wasnt only because Lang, in a playoff with Anna Nordqvist, had finally pulled off the kind of achievement that she -- and many others -- long expected of the former Duke University star.For the USGAs second straight national championship, a rules infraction captured by the high-powered telephoto lens of a television camera figured prominently in the proceedings.In last months U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, a one-stroke penalty was assessed to Dustin Johnson after he was judged having caused his ball to move on a green in the final round. The penalty, controversial in that it wasnt given until after Johnson had completed the final round, ultimately was inconsequential because of his margin of victory.That was not the case at CordeValle, where a video replay showed that Nordqvist grounded her club in a fairway bunker on the second hole (the par-4 17th) of a three-hole aggregate playoff, her 5-iron seen by the Fox television camera to have touched the sand as she began her backswing.The two-stroke penalty turned Nordqvists 4 into a double-bogey 6 when the Swede was informed of the violation by USGA rules official Mark Newell after she played her third shot on the third playoff hole, the par-5 18th. Nordqvist bogeyed the hole, losing the playoff to Lang by three strokes after they finished 72 holes at 6-under 282, two shots ahead of third-round leader Lydia Ko, Eun Hee Ji, Sung Hyun Park and Amy Yang.Ive always dreamed of winning the U.S. Open, and I feel I have extremely underachieved as a golfer, said Lang, who had won one previous title in her 11-year LPGA career. I feel like Im so capable of doing so much more than Ive done. And this is just a little start to boost me.Nordqvist, who won the 2009 McDonalds LPGA Championship and five other events, including the ShopRite LPGA Classic this year, charged to the forefront of the final-round plot by shooting the best score of the day, a 5-under 67. She was classy in defeat, accepting the ruling but wishing that she had been told sooner about the violation.I was just focusing on hitting my shots and apparently I touched the sand, Nordqvist said. It wasnt on purpose, and just one of those things. I have to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, it happened but its not the end of the world. I wish the USGA would have told me a little bit earlier. I dont know if it would have changed the outcome, but it certainly would have changed my aggressiveness into the 18th pin.John Bodenhamer, the USGAs senior managing director of competitions, championships and governance, said he received a call from someone at Fox asking if there was a rules issue with Nordqvists bunker shot as he watched play on the green of the second playoff hole. A USGA staff member watching the live broadcast hadnt observed any possible infraction.At that time we decided that we would, nonetheless, proactively go up to the compound and left right away, because we wanted to just put your own eyeballs on it, make sure it was conclusive, and we just wanted to see it and understand it, Bodenhamer said. So in just a couple of minutes, we went up tto the compound and we had a look at [the close-up footage].dddddddddddd We concluded that it was a breach. We quickly consulted with our committee and decided that we would inform Anna immediately. We immediately notified the referee, who, as quickly as he could, notified Anna and Brittany.Lang wasnt sure what to think when Newell approached her on the third playoff hole.I actually thought he was giving me a penalty, and so I was definitely relieved when I heard it wasnt me, Lang said. You know, Anna is such a great player, its so unfortunate to have something like that happen. But, you know, shes a classy girl, and I think the USGA handled it well. Im thankful they told me before my wedge shot so I could take a little bit more club. I think the USGA did the best they could do.At 30, Lang is the oldest winner of the championship since Annika Sorenstam. For the early going of the final round, it appeared that Ko, 19, was marching toward her third title in the last four majors and would continue the youthful trend. Then she stumbled uncharacteristically, going 5-over-par in a seven-hole stretch starting at No. 8, en route to a closing 75.Kos biggest mistake came on the par-5 ninth hole, where she attempted to carry a water hazard on her second shot from the left rough. Hitting a 25-degree hybrid, which she hits 175 yards from a clean lie, she wasnt able to get the ball 116 yards over the creek from what turned out to be a tougher spot than she thought.We were in a similar place yesterday and got over no problem, said Kos caddie, Jason Hamilton. The lie was a little bit more juicy today, but I still thought we could get plenty of club on it. The reward was there. If you get it over, youre getting on the green in three shots instead of laying up. Hindsights always 20-20 shoulda, woulda, coulda. She put up a good fight. Shell learn from this and be a better player for it.Said Ko: I should have judged it to be that thick in there. And I think the easiest thing was for me to just lay up short of [the hazard]. It kind of happened at the wrong time, but I should have just moved on better, hopefully forget about it. But I think it was kind of looming in the back of my mind.Park, 22, was bidding to follow 2015 winner In Gee Chun as players from the Korean womens tour to have success in their first Open. She came to the 72nd hole with a chance to get in the playoff with a birdie. Trying to reach the green in two, though, she hit into a greenside water hazard.Shes the real deal, theres no doubt about that, caddie Jeff King said of the long-hitting Park. Youll see her again.And after Langs winning performance, she is likely to be heard from again too. It was unfortunate that she was called Bethany during the awards ceremony -- USGA president Diane Murphy later issued an apology for the mistake -- but her name will be spelled correctly on the trophy, where it will reside with many greats of the womens game.You never want to win with a penalty or something like that happening especially to Anna, who is a friend of mine and a great player and a classy girl, Lang said. Its unfortunate, but its part of the game and it happened that way. I still had to play pretty damn good golf to get up there. So, Im really proud of myself.There was no reason to feel any other way. ' ' '