When almost bumping into Dustin Johnson as he ambled his way past the media center at The Open last month, I was tempted to put this question to him. Maybe I wouldn’t have been quite so blunt, but I’d have loved a few honest words on his decline.
He probably would have offered up a minute or two of his time, too. He was unaccompanied – no manager present and no caddie with clubs. I would not have been shocked if he’d stopped and asked for directions to the nearest ice cream van.
Johnson joined LIV Golf in June 2022. At the time, he was ranked 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). That month, at the US Open, he was asked how sharp his game would be playing 54-hole golf with limited fields and no cuts.
“Just as sharp as I would be playing anywhere,” he replied. Whether or not he genuinely believed that only he knows, but his results in the Major Championships in the three years since he resigned his PGA Tour membership suggest his game has suffered.
Dustin Johnson missed the cut in three of the four Major Championships in 2025, showing signs of his best at Royal Portrush in July
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Despite an encouraging display at Royal Portrush in The Open, where he finished just outside the top 20, he’s been a shadow of his former self in the blue ribbon events.
Since the start of 2024, the former World No.1 has played in eight Majors and missed the cut in five of them. Had it not been for old ‘DJ‘ turning up in Northern Ireland, he’d have had an ‘MC’ next to all four of them this year.
So, what has happened to Dustin Johnson?
Let’s remind ourselves of the player he once was. In his pomp, no one struck the ball better off the tee. Once he figured how to wedge it close – which took a little time – he became the complete player. He was unstoppable.
He really was that good, not quite Tiger or Scottie Scheffler good, but a pretty dominant force between 2017 and 2020, racking up title after title.
Johnson wasn’t quite box office, and he didn’t offer too much in the way of insight when he spoke, but there was something satisfying – and occasionally quite amusing – about watching the laid back South Carolinian wallop the ball around the golf course with the minimum of fuss.
Before that glittering spell in the last 2010s, he was described as one of…
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