Signing for LIV Golf has all-but ended a number of Ryder Cup careers. But one Team USA veteran is not giving up hope just yet…
If you’re one of the people who believes Dustin Johnson is in semi-retirement mode – think again.
The two-time major champ was, at 15th in the world, the highest-ranked player of the original defectors to LIV Golf when it was inaugurated in 2022. Johnson dominated that season, both in the individual standings and as one quarter of 4Aces GC, and has won three titles in his time on the tour.
The only downside to playing less golf and being paid much more is you have to give up a number of things.
In Johnson’s case, it was his Ryder Cup career.
Johnson has a 12-9-0 record from five appearances. At Whistling Straits in 2021, the 41-year-old delivered five points from five matches as the US team dominated a hapless European side in Wisconsin. That remains the last time he pulled on the red, white and blue.
An equally abject performance from Keegan Bradley’s men at Bethpage earlier this month had many pundits – notably 2008 captain Paul Azinger – calling for more LIV Golf players to be involved, with Bryson DeChambeau the league’s only qualifier at the 45th matches.
it seems to have reignited a spark in Johnson too.
“I wanted to be there,” he said at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he is playing alongside his father-in-law, hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.
When asked about a return to the side, starting with Ireland in 2027, he added: “I’d love to. I just need to play a bit better and I can be there for Adare [Manor].”
With only his major form to rely on in qualifying now, Johnson will have to up his game in the four biggest tournaments of the year. The problem is, his results have fallen off a cliff, with a T23, T31, T43 and nine missed cuts since his last top 10 at the ’23 US Open. But he’s feeling a bit better about next year.
“I finally feel like I have my game coming back into form. I’ve got a lot more confidence in it and I am starting to swing it well again,” he explained.
“I went through about a year where I just wasn’t swinging at it very well. But I feel I am now starting to hit a lot of nice shots and feel a lot more consistent. The last few months have been nice.”
With the LIV Golf season over, Johnson will head from Scotland to the Far East for the International Series event in the Philippines, where fellow major winners and LIV golfers Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen will also tee up.
About the author
News editor and writer. Probably entertainer third.
He is a keen golfer who claims to play off 12 and enjoys traveling the world to try new courses. His three favorites are Royal North Devon, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Royal Portrush – with special mentions for Okehampton and Bude & North Cornwall, where he first fell in love with the game.
He uses a combination of Ping, TaylorMade and Callaway gear, and once bought the Nike SQ driver which he absolutely did not immediately regret.