In a post yesterday, I wrote: “At 37, with 24 PGA Tour wins and a Hall of Fame career already in the bank, there are only two things DJ should be focused on: majors and money. With $25 million purses, and a limited schedule of a 54-hole events meant to complement the four majors, the LIV Golf Series should take care of both.”
And that’s exactly what Dustin Johnson will do. Today he resigned from the PGA Tour to focus only on majors while building a massive bank account in between, playing LIV Golf events.
“I don’t want to play for the rest of my life, this gives me an opportunity to do what I want to do,” said Johnson during a press conference ahead of the $35 million LIV Golf London.
By quitting the PGA Tour, Johnson will be ineligible for future Ryder Cup teams.
“The Ryder Cup is unbelievable and has meant a lot to me, but ultimately I decided this was best for me and my family,” said Johnson.
“All things are subject to change and hopefully at some point it will change and I will get a chance to do that again.”
He added, “Obviously I’m exempt for the majors so I plan on playing there unless I hear otherwise.”
Johnson’s 2020 victory at Augusta National gave him a lifetime exemption at the Masters, and five-year exemptions (through the 2025 season) into The British Open and PGA Championship. His 2016 U.S. Open victory guaranteed him a spot in the U.S. national championship for 10 years, which runs through the 2026 edition.
The media was hoping that the season’s two remaining majors – The Open and US Open, which starts on 16 June at Brookline in Massachusetts – would disinvite any players competing in LIV Golf events. The U.S. Open today nixed that childish idea.
It has also been reported Spain’s Sergio Garcia and South Africans Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, who are all in the 48-man field for the event on the outskirts of London this week, have all resigned their membership of the PGA Tour.
Source: BBC.com
