The top men’s golfer in the world will not be teeing it up this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.
Dustin Johnson confirmed after his third round at the Players Championship that he has removed himself from consideration for one of four spots on the American team.
“I really didn’t think much about it,” Johnson said. “I actually didn’t really ever decide whether I was going to play or not, I just didn’t sign up.”
Johnson explained that the Olympics come during a “big stretch of golf” for him, and with the lengthy travel between Japan and the United States, he is opting to stay home. Johnson also did not compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, citing concerns surrounding the Zika virus.
“It’s a long way to travel,” he said. “I think WGC [FedEx St. Jude Invitational] is the week right after it. The British is a couple weeks before it. It’s a lot of traveling at a time where it’s important for me to feel like I’m focused playing on the PGA Tour.”
The 36-year-old likely would have been a shoe in for one of the four spots on the American team as he has opened up a massive gap between himself and everyone else in the World Golf Ranking. Justin Thomas is now the top-ranked American eligible for the Olympics, followed by Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau.
“I think if there was a little more time, especially if you weren’t trying to fly right from Tokyo to Memphis and play WGC, I obviously definitely would have thought about it a lot more,” Johnson said. “If there was a little more space between there, for sure.”
