‘Semi-Retired’ Dustin Johnson Gets Ruthlessly Slammed by Fans as Italian Vacation Gets Buried Under Olympics Fervor

You would think the center of the golf world is now at Guyancourt. For golf fans, yes. But not for Dustin Johnson. While the little-known commune in Frace is hosting 60 players at the Olympics, the 4Aces captain is some 600 miles away basking in the sun-soaked shorelines of Portofino, Italy. 

Italy was on his mind for some time, although his first choice was always spending time at home. “However, we do visit the Bahamas quite often, as it’s a short cruise from my home in South Florida. In terms of bucket list destinations, I would like to visit Italy someday soon, especially some of the beautiful coastal regions,” Forbes quoted him as saying. 

A week later, Johnson was indeed in the Mediterranean country with his wife, Paulina Gretzky. They walked side by side, holding hands, at Portofino, a little-known fishing village on the Riviera coastline. His brother, Austin Johnson, and sister-in-law, Samantha Maddox, were also in attendance. 

Gretzky shared a few pictures from the vacations on her Instagram handle, captioning ‘Les Garcons’. The pictures made their way onto X (formerly Twitter) as well. While Instagram was mostly filled with positive compliments, fans had mixed reactions to X. Some lauded the two-time major winner for his carefree attitude, whereas others dubbed him a spent force. 

Internet slams ‘semi-retired’ Dustin Johnson’s lack of drive

The matter of debate was whether Johnson regretted leaving for the PIF-funded side. His pictures don’t show any sign of that. A section of fans stand by Dustin Johnson as they repeatedly pointed out that his 24 PGA Tour titles speak for themselves. 

One fan slammed the haters with a few strong words: “DJ has already proved himself. Guy is living the dream most of you would absolutely beg for. Let the man live.” 

Chris McKee, a Canadian radio host and a popular voice on Twitter, wrote that Dustin Johnson sure has no regret. “American golf media, ‘I’m hearing many LIV guys regret leaving the PGA Tour.’ Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson…,” he tweeted. But not everyone agrees. 

Since winning in LIV Las Vegas, Johnson’s form has hit the skids. In the nine tournaments afterward, the 4Aces captain could break inside the top 20 only three times. In a veiled dig at his poor form, one user sarcastically wrote, “It’s been great for the dudes past their prime.” 

Notably, since joining LIV Golf, in 2022, the 40-year-old has had two top-10s in 12 major appearances. This year, the T31 at the Open Championship has been his best major performance. Dustin Johnson seemed to be lacking the vigor with which his wife, Paulina Gretzky, proclaimed, “[H]e is still ready to show you who the f*** he is”. One disappointed user tweeted, “He probably considers him self semi-retired.”

Some believe Johnson was already past his prime, which is why he doesn’t have any regrets. That’s not the same for someone like Jon Rahm, who admitted that he missed playing in a few PGA Tour events. “Those that were in the prime of their career? Yeah. Those guys would have regret. Rahm is exhibit A.”

Dustin Johnson, even in his PGA Tour days, rarely spoke more than a few words. It’s hard to guess what his feelings on the matter is. However, there is one person who surely misses him. Collin Morikawa, in a recent interview, admitted he missed the the 4Aces captain. But we don’t know if Johnson sent a text to Morikawa before he jetted off to Italy for the vacation.