“That’s going to be a part of my life that I can’t wait to get back,” said Cameron Smith as one of the reasons for him to join LIV Golf. There is no turning back the clock as time marches on, and many pro golfers want to make sure they make the most of it. And for many pros, one way to do so is to spend quality time with their families and enjoy life. LIV golf provided golfers with the precious gift of time, which became a huge factor for many golfers, including Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson from the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf only has 14 events throughout the year, and of course, only a handful of LIV players get to tee off at all four majors. When compared to the 42-event season on the PGA Tour, the PIF-funded league does provide ample time for the golfers to unwind between events, and it looks like DJ has been using the opportunity to the fullest ever since 2022.

The 4Aces GC captain in all 14 appearances on the breakaway league has been able to bag only three top-10 finishes, which includes a win at the Las Vegas event. He last played at the LIV Golf Greenbrier, which took place from August 16 to August 18. He finished in a disappointing 33rd position on the leaderboard.

DJ chose to rejuvenate on the pristine blue waters of the Bahamas before he takes to the greens at the last individual event of this season, LIV Golf Chicago, which is to be held from September 13th to September 15th.

And @flushingitgolf shared some snippets on X of his jolly time in the Paradise Islands. The photo consisted of DJ sitting on a boat with a giant fish in his hands. He had his vacation tan and glow on. The tweet was captioned, “Dustin Johnson is enjoying the lighter schedule on LIV.”

While Dustin Johnson seems to be having the time of his life balancing both golf and personal time after joining LIV Golf, the fans do not seem to be very pleased about it. Neither with his moves nor with his performances.

Dustin Johnson’s vacation time garners criticism from golf fans

In February 2017, Johnson became the world’s number one golfer and remained there for 64 consecutive weeks, the 5th longest run as number 1 on OWGR. He returned to the number 1 position in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and has been at number 1 for a total of over 130 weeks.

However, after joining LIV Golf, his rank plummeted and currently he sits at the 382nd rank. One of the main reasons is the denial of OWGR points for LIV Golf. Taking to this, one of them said, “Been terrible for his career don’t leave that part out”.

DJ was among the few LIV golfers who participated in all four majors in 2024. The four mega events were his only opportunity to get his hands on the OWGR points. But alas! His performance in all four outings was disappointing, to say the least. The 40-year-old ended up missing the cut at the Masters and the US Open and, well, dropped down below the top-30 list on the leaderboard for the other two (T43 at the PGA Championship and T31 at the Open Championship).

This definitely disappointed many of his fans, who expressed it through their tweets, “2 missed cuts and $138k in earnings in 4 majors this year. I don’t think anyone would miss him if he stayed fishing.” Another simply wrote, “Forgot bro existed”.

This is not the first time that the captain has been spotted enjoying his time on lavish vacations. About a month ago, he was enjoying some time off with his wife, Paulina Gretzky, and their friends. The 40-year-old was seen going shirtless while hanging out on a boat in July in Portofino, Italy. His back-to-back trips are enough testament to the fun he has been having, which would have been impossible with the jam-packed PGA Tour schedule.

The change in his lifestyle did not go unnoticed by a fan, as they commented, “DJ is just doing his thang…got paid; knew what he was giving up, and not complaining, just moving on, and living it up.”

There has been no official confirmation of the amount for which Dustin Johnson signed up for LIV Golf. However, according to some sources, it is rumored that he was paid a whopping $150 million on a fully guaranteed contract. While other sources cited $125 million as his LIV deal, either way, both are huge sums of money! Not to forget the huge amount the LIV Golfers are paid for winning the events ($5 million).

Taking to this, took a little witty jab at the 4Aces skipper, “DJ enjoying his well-funded retirement. @livgolf_league enjoying their investment”,

What are your thoughts about Dustin Johnson and his vacations? Let us know in the comments section below!