Dustin Johnson is in PGA Championship hell as career dropoff continues
Dustin Johnson's quest for a third major couldn't have gone any worse this week.
The LIV Golf star, 40, continued his tumble down the leaderboard Friday at the 2025 PGA Championship, one day after he shot a seven-over par 78 in Thursday's opening round at Quail Hollow.
Advertisement
Johnson finished Friday's second round with a five-over par 76, putting him at 12-over overall and in 152nd place — in a 156-player field.
He was undone by his putting, as he ranks second-to-last in the field in strokes gained with the short stick.
5 Dustin Johnson is off to a brutal start at the 2025 PGA Championship.
Getty Images
Advertisement
He wrapped the front nine Friday with two bogeys and a double bogey, then added a double bogey and a bogey on two of the first three holes of the back nine.
The 2020 Masters victor, who has not won a major championship since, missed the cut at Augusta National last month after shooting a three-over par.
5 Dustin Johnson shot a seven-over par 78 during the opening round of the PGA Championship on May 15, 2025.
Getty Images
5 The 2020 Masters champion is in danger of missing the cut.
Getty Images
Advertisement
Rory McIlroy went on to win his first green jacket while completing a career Grand Slam in a thrilling playoff victory over Justin Rose.
Johnson is now in his fourth season on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit and has yet to score a victory this season.
The 2016 U.S. Open winner defected to the rebel league in 2022 — the first huge name to do so — and was reportedly paid around $125 million.
5 Dustin Johnson missed the cut at the 2025 Masters, where he was joined by wife Paulina Gretzky.
Getty Images
Advertisement
5 She showed her support at the 2025 PGA Championship.
Instagram
Ahead of this year's PGA Championship, Johnson was invited to contend by the PGA of America via a special exemption.
The former world No. 1 was permitted to participate in the past five tournaments because of his Masters win.
Johnson, whose wife, Paulina Gretzky, has been showing her support in Charlotte, is hardly the only notable name to be struggling in North Carolina.
Reigning PGA Champion Xander Schauffele is currently 1-over par, while McIlroy sits at 3-over.
Those two tee off with Scottie Scheffler, one year removed from his shocking arrest at Valhalla Golf Club over a miscommunication about traffic flow.
The PGA Championship runs through Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Queen's Club 2025: Emma Raducanu breezes through first round as Katie Boulter survives wobble
moving on: both raducanu and boulter progress to the round of 16 (John Walton/PA Wire) Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Heather Watson all started their grass court seasons on the right foot today with first-round wins at the Queen's Club Championships. Women compete at Queen's this year for the first time since 1973, and the hosts welcomed the Tour to South-West London in some style. Advertisement The British No2 Raducanu bounced back from a disappointing second-round exit at Roland Garros with a comfortable 6-1 6-2 win over Spain's Cristina Bucsa. The Spaniard had won the only previous meeting between the pair in the first round of this year's Singapore Open, but this time she was no match for the 22-year-old wildcard and Raducanu strolled to a comfortable win. "I'm still trying to find my groove on this surface," Raducanu said afterwards. "I knew today would be a very difficult match, I lost to Cristina earlier in the year, so I was trying to make sure that didn't happen again and fight to get myself into the second round." Advertisement Raducanu is likely to face a tougher task in the next round, where she could meet current Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova if the Czech seventh seed overcomes Slovak Rebecca Sramkova. cheery: emma raducanu starts the grass season on form (Getty Images) For Boulter, the going was not so smooth. She was pushed all the way by Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic, requiring a deciding set to win 7-6 (4) 1-6 6-4. The 28-year-old British No1, who secured a doubles victory alongside compatriot Raducanu on Monday, was broken in her opening game, but found herself in a position to serve for the set after taking a 5-3 advantage. But Tomljanovic immediately broke back, forcing an opening set tiebreak in which she was edged out by an emphatic winner from Boulter. Advertisement The qualifier seized control in the second set, winning five straight games to force a decider, and made it six games in a row when she claimed the first game of the third. comeback: katie boulter fought back after a tough second set to beat Ajla Tomljanovic (AP) Boulter began to swing the contest in her favour, breaking Tomljanovic's serve three times to make it 5-4 and, with the Australian serving to stay in it, digging deep to see herself through after nearly two-and-a-half hours. Earlier, Watson set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina after upsetting world No27 Yulia Putintseva, 107 places above her in the rankings, 6-4 6-3. She won all four of her break points, closing proceedings in just an hour and 22 minutes. Francesca Jones hit six double faults as she was beaten in straight sets 6-2 6-4 by McCartney Kessler of the USA. Additional reporting: PA, Reuters
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Jon Rahm: Smaller fields make top 10s easier at LIV Golf
OAKMONT, Pa. — Two-time major champion Jon Rahm comes into the U.S. Open off another top 10 at LIV Golf, which is nothing new. The Spaniard has never come in lower in the 20 events he has finished since joining the Saudi-backed league at the start of last year. Is that a big deal?
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Scottie Scheffler Reveals Venmo Payments from Fans, Requests for Cash
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Scottie Scheffler is just outside of Pittsburgh, PA for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. The 125th rendition of the event is expected to be brutal, with some players calling it the hardest course they have ever played. Much of the talk during Tuesday's press conferences was about the course itself. Rory McIlroy even admitted to shooting an 81 during his practice round, despite playing well. While every player answered questions pertaining to the rough and slope of the greens, Scheffler fielded a question that only could be asked of him. A reporter asked whether he can hear fans who have financial interest in his performance, seeing as he is considered a heavy favorite. Scheffler in typical fashion, was extremely candid in response. OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 10: Scottie Scheffler of the United States speaks to the media during a practice round prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 10, 2025 in Oakmont,... OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 10: Scottie Scheffler of the United States speaks to the media during a practice round prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 10, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) More"I think everybody hears from fans whether they have a financial benefit or anything in their outcome," Scheffler said. "That's why I had to get rid of my Venmo because I was either getting paid by people or people requesting me a bunch of money when I didn't win. "It wasn't a good feeling." The World No. 1 is likely used to being the betting favorite these days. He has been the world's top-ranked golfer for 107 consecutive weeks, which include two of his three major championships. He broke through and won the 2022 Masters Tournament. But it was what he did last year that was stuff of legend. Scheffler won nine times worldwide, including another Masters title, the Arnold Palmer, the PLAYERS, RBC Heritage, and The Memorial, all of which are Signature Events on the PGA Tour. He capped it off with his first Tour Championship. Despite suffering a hand injury that cost him a month to start 2025, the Ridgewood, NJ native has picked up where he left off. Scheffler has won three times already this year, including his first PGA Championship. Going into the U.S. Open, the former Texas Longhorn is +275 to win the tournament. The next closest golfer is McIlroy at +850. So, he is at least three times more likely to win than anyone else. Of course, Scheffler remained level-headed though with the task at hand. "But no, I don't pay attention to the favorite stuff or anything like that. Starting Thursday morning we're at even par and it's up to me to go out there and play against the golf course and see what I can do." Throughout his young career, he has already amassed over $86 million in official prize money. Suffice it to say, people who have been betting on him have done better than those that bet against. More Golf: Xander Schauffele Showers DeChambeau with Praise, Omits McIlroy
