CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two fans were close in age to the golfer whose scores half-stunned them, 40-year-old Dustin Johnson. DJ, to these friends and millions of others drawn to Johnson’s laconic manner and he’s-got-all-the-shots game.
“Man,” one of them said. “He hasn’t been the same since he took that money.”
The fan’s meaning was obvious. Three years ago, at the end of May in 2022, Johnson cut ties with the PGA Tour and went LIV, with its guaranteed millions. Per various credible news reports — a small number of reporters covered these matters intensely for a while — he signed a four-year deal worth at least $125 million in guaranteed money.
Johnson was playing in this PGA Championship at Quail Hollow by way of a special exemption from the tournament organizers, the PGA of America. He was making a mess of it.
It might seem like forever since he has won, but that’s not the case. Johnson won the rowdy Boston LIV event in 2022, the Tulsa LIV event in 2023 and the Las Vegas LIV event in 2024. That sounds pretty OK, right?
But you likely are more familiar with the 12 majors Johnson has played in since signing with the upstart golf league. Over those 12 events, he has had just two top-10 finishes. In April, he missed the cut in the Masters. Which brings us to Charlotte.
Johnson shot a 78 on Thursday and a 76 on Friday. He was 12 over for two rounds and close to last in the 155-player field that includes 20 club pros. T143, if you’re keeping score at home.
Johnson was in a glamorous threesome, with Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, both former PGA Championship winners and near-certain Ryder Cup players in September. (They had their own ESPN crew following them through the two days of golf.) In theory, Johnson could be on the Ryder Cup team. The PGA of America, which runs the American side of the Ryder Cup, would love his star power and his power power. But the state of Johnson’s game suggests the chances of him making or being selected for Keegan Bradley’s U.S. team are slim. Slim to … exceedingly slim. Enter your own Dan Rather joke here.
Once, not long ago, you might have guessed that Johnson would be a Ryder Cup staple for years to come, and maybe even a laid-back, just-go-play captain. That was then.
Next month, the U.S. Open returns to Oakmont. It was last there in 2016, when Johnson won amid some wild rules debates. (Dustin, did you cause that ball to move on five green? No. OK. We’ll take you at your word. Or maybe not. In any event, we’ll get back to you. Eventually. But it kind of looks like you caused that ball to move.) Nobody’s finest moment. Now there’s something people call the Dustin Johnson rule. If your ball moves on a putting green, even after you addressed it, just move it back. No penalty.
Johnson won the pandemic-delayed Masters, which means he qualified for the U.S. Open this year in two ways: his U.S. Open win in 2016 gave him a 10-exemption into the national Open, and his win at the Masters gave him five-year exemption. Both expire next year.
Johnson is still strong and bearded and flexible and imposing. He hits it right on the face. Johnson’s caddie is still his brother, Austin. His wife, Paulina Gretzky, was making the scene at Quail. His putting game has completely deserted him and he was near the bottom of the various putting stats. His threesome was on the clock for most of the second round, and Johnson was not the issue. It’s a hard way to go through a round of golf when things are already off-kilter.
Maybe you’d like to know:
*Is Dustin Johnson glad he joined the LIV league?
*Does he miss the rush of being in contention at majors?
*Does he think he can turn his game around?
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know.
Johnson didn’t talk to reporters after either his Thursday or Friday round, and who can blame him? Soon after his second round, Johnson’s locker was cleared out, except for a pair of used golf shoes that will wind up in the First Tee bin and find a home with some large-footed kid who maybe dreams of winning a Masters or a U.S. Open, but does not dream of a T143 finish at a PGA Championship.
At the LIV event in Miami this year, before going to the Masters, Johnson was asked about the state of his game compared to five years ago.
“It’s close,” he said. “Obviously, I was playing really good at the end of 2020. I feel like it’s getting pretty close to that. Obviously, it’s a really fine line to being that good or just a little bit off.”
That was after shooting a 69 at Trump Doral. Is it any wonder he wasn’t talking at Quail Hollow? The next month-plus is likely to be a long one for Johnson, the line being so fine and all.
Michael Bamberger writes for GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. Before that, he spent nearly 23 years as senior writer for Sports Illustrated. After college, he worked as a newspaper reporter, first for the (Martha’s) Vineyard Gazette, later for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has written a variety of books about golf and other subjects, the most recent of which is The Second Life of Tiger Woods. His magazine work has been featured in multiple editions of The Best American Sports Writing. He holds a U.S. patent on The E-Club, a utility golf club. In 2016, he was given the Donald Ross Award by the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the organization’s highest honor.
