Back in 2022, Dustin Johnson was just a few days away from his 38th birthday when it was confirmed that he would be one of the LIV Golf’s first big name signings. The Coastal Carolina University alumnus and former Myrtle Beach resident resigned his PGA Tour membership in June 2022. He was indeed the biggest surprise of that first wave of players to defect. Johnson was, and still is, one of the most decorated players having built a resume that boasts 31 wins as a professional, including two majors and six World Golf Championships. Only Tiger Woods has more on that particular front. And only Woods and Greg Norman have spent more time as the World No. 1 than Johnson.

For obvious reasons, many saw it as a money-grab move. Johnson’s LIV contract was widely reported as being at least $125 million and up to $150 million. While the contract brought him a lot of money, it also cost him something equally important: his OWGR ranking. Before joining LIV Golf, he was ranked 13th in the world. His current ranking? 594. That’s a staggering fall of 581 positions! Alongside, there were an immense backlash. Johnson’s wife Paulina Gretzky, in the second season of the Netflix golf docuseries, “Full Swing,” had revealed what the family had to go through following that move.

“People sending death threats and awful, awful, awful things,” Gretzky had said while sitting outside at the couple’s home in West Palm Beach. “People were aggressive that’s for sure. But that’s when I shut it down for a little bit. I was like I don’t need to look at this. Everyone has an opinion on it. Fine.” Despite that, Gretzky was happy for the move since she was no longer “taking a back seat” to the couple’s “old life” on the PGA Tour. Guess what she meant?

LIV Golf has a much lighter schedule than the PGA and was one of the motivating factors for Johnson. “We have a little bit more time together now since things have changed a little, whereas before, it was like, go go go,” Gretzky said. “We have more control now of how we do things. That old life that we had, I had to take a backseat, but now it feels like we’re in the front of the plane together flying. It was the right move.” Can’t deny that. LIV has just a 14-tournament schedule from February through August and events are 54 holes over three days rather than 72 holes over four days on the PGA Tour. Probably that is why Johnson himself spoke in the same tone during his flagship Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach.

Reflecting on his life after joining the LIV Golf, Johnson ruled that the shorter schedule allows Johnson to spend more time with his wife Paulina Gretzky and sons Tatum and River, ages 10 and 7. “It’s been really nice. LIV is going really well. My life is going good. It’s nice for me being at home for a longer period of time. I get to coach baseball, I coach my kid’s basketball team. So I get to spend a lot more time at home and do things I wasn’t able to do before. So for me it’s been great,” Johnson said, as reported by On the Green. But what about his games with LIV Golf, you ask?

Well, it’s not too extraordinary. Since 2022, Johnson hasn’t achieved a single top-5 in any major. When it comes to the top 10, he claimed one back in 2022 British Open, where he tied for sixth. The second one came a year later at the U.S. Open (10th). That was for the individual play. On the team front, Johnson belongs to the 4 Aces team with Patrick Reed, Harold Varner III, and Thomas Pieters. Additionally, as its captain, Johnson has seen the most success by winning the regular season team competition (2022 and 2023).

Discussing the upcoming schedule for LIV Golf, the golfer said: “Right now, I’m really focused and working really hard to try to get the game in good form, especially since I’ve got Augusta coming up and I leave on Saturday to go to Hong Kong and Singapore. So I’ve got a big stretch coming up here in the next three or four months, so I’ll be working really hard on the game and hopefully just try to put myself in position to contend every single week.” The Hong Kong tour will take place between March 7 and 9, and the Singapore tour will take place from March 14 to 16. Johnson adds that he is putting a lot of effort into honing his skills.

However, his recent performances will again raise your eyebrows. Take, for instance, the fact that he played two LIV Golf events this year. His first was LIV Golf Riyadh, where he finished T44. How about the second one, you ask? Well, at the Adelaide event, he performed slightly better, ending up at T31. Dustin Johnson is still hopeful, though. He agrees that while he started strong in the 2024 season, the rest of the year went downhill. “But this year I feel like the game’s in really good form and, hopefully, I can contend in all the tournaments from here on out.” While he is focused on that, the money side of the move indeed looks pleasant, despite his reduced playtime.

“Dustin Johnson took the money. He got 150 million,” said golf journalist Dan Rapaport, who was interviewed for the Full Swing docuseries. “He seems to be living his very best life and it’s just not anymore complex than that.” Well, as per reports,in 2022 alone, Johnson made $36 million in LIV prize money and bonuses, which is nearly half of his $75.5 million in earnings on the PGA Tour from 2008 to 2022. The golfer’s logic was simple. “I just want to play less golf and make more money,” Johnson had said in 2022, when he made the move. With cash and time both in his hands, some more good stuff is going on with Dustin Johnson.

Dustin Johnson logs in to promote the upcoming golfing talents

In case you’re missing out, let us give you a glimpse into the tournament Johnson organises for the young golfers. The Dustin Johnson World Junior started in 2016. Its golfers have gone on to play in PGA Tour events and the U.S. Women’s Open. Sounds impressive enough? Well, there’s more. The 54-hole tournament, which has a full field of boys and girls, will take place from February 28 to March 2. Additionally, it will host star-studded names like Charlie Woods and Kai Trump, President Donald Trump’s granddaughter.

Players from past tournaments have gone on to compete in the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. Last year’s boys winner, Ethan Paschal, is a freshman on the University of North Carolina golf team. The 2024 girls’ winner, Vanessa Borovilos, is a freshman on the Texas A&M golf team. And Johnson is quite excited about it. “It’s really cool,” he said. “Obviously, it’s really hard even for really good junior players to make it to the next level. So, it’s really cool to see guys and girls who have played in this event move on and have success at the next level, playing on the Tour.”

Dustin Johnson attended the press conference on Thursday at TPC Myrtle Beach. Talking about it, he said that it was very exciting to see how much his event has grown over the years. And it has. It will feature names like Tyler Watts and Hamilton Coleman, among others, in the boys category. For girls, it will have Ryleigh Knaub and Mia Hammond, among others. The field will have cut on the same day (Saturday) that Johnson leaves for his next LIV Golf events. So, who will you be catching up on? The juniors or the seniors? Let us know below!

Top Comment by James

Don’ t be so foolish…He is still one of the best golfers in the world and will be for some...more

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