Tag: LIV Golf Series

Dustin Johnson announced he’s resigned from the PGA Tour during press conference for LIV Golf Series opener

The 2020 Masters champion is no longer eligible for the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.

When the field for the LIV Golf Series opener in London was released, there were many names that came with little surprise. Then there was Dustin Johnson. On February 22 of this year, Johnson stated he was “fully committed to the PGA Tour.”

Now, less than four months later, the 2020 Masters champion has announced he’s resigned his membership. Kevin Na did the same on June 4.

Due to this move, Johnson will not be eligible to play on the Tour on a weekly basis, however, major championships may still be on the table. The Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, on the other hand, are not. A player must be a member of the PGA Tour to be eligible for a roster spot, and since the two-time major champion is no longer a member, his days playing for the United States are over.

At least for now.

Here are Johnson’s full comments on the matter at his LIV Golf press conference.

Only time will tell if the players who committed to playing in London this week will be allowed to play in major championships. They’re a separate entity from the Tour and can function however they see fit.

Johnson is currently exempt from all four majors.

The now No. 15-ranked player in the world hasn’t won on Tour since 2020 (Masters). His last worldwide win came in 2021 at the Saudi International. In nine stroke-play event starts this season, Johnson has just one top 10 (Players Championship, T-9).

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Jack Nicklaus speaks at length on many subjects except one in annual meeting with media ahead of The Memorial

In his annual meeting with the media at the Memorial, Jack Nicklaus discussed the LIV Golf Series, the PGA Tour’s young talent, and more.

DUBLIN, Ohio – As is an annual occurrence, Jack Nicklaus met with the media Tuesday ahead of the start of The Memorial he hosts at Muirfield Village Golf Club, which he built, and did what he always does – talk at length on a variety of subjects for over more than one hour.

One subject, however, he only touched on briefly – a complaint filed against him on May 13 by Nicklaus Companies which alleges tortious interference, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Nicklaus, 82, said in a statement two weeks ago that the claims by Howard Milstein, executive chairman of the Nicklaus Companies who also oversees Golf Magazine and Golf.com., were untrue.

“I’m not worried about that,” Nicklaus said. “I feel very comfortable with where we are. And I’m here to talk about The Memorial Tournament and not that.”

Memorial: Best bets | Sleeper picks | PGA Tour streaming on ESPN+

This is the 47th playing of The Memorial, which Nicklaus won in 1977 and 1984. This year, he welcomes another loaded field, topped by seven of the top-10 players in the world – world No. 2 Jon Rahm, No. 3 Cameron Smith, No. 4 Collin Morikawa, No. 6 and defending champion Patrick Cantlay, No. 7 Viktor Hovland, No. 8 Rory McIlroy and No. 10 Jordan Spieth.

After a major renovation of the course completed in 2021, Nicklaus feels the players will be challenged by a firm and fast track.

“This year now that we’ve had a year of maturity, the fairways are excellent,” Nicklaus said. “The guys were coming in today and telling me how firm they were. I like firm greens, but I don’t like ridiculous greens. I like them so that if you play a good shot, you’re rewarded and the ball will take it right out a little bit, but it won’t hit and go.

“The rough is not particularly thick this year. I don’t know why that is, but I think there’s plenty of it. Certainly, around the greens, there’s plenty of it.

“The golf course is excellent. I even played it. I played it for the first time. I played it Saturday and Sunday, and I hadn’t been playing. I didn’t play golf last year. Anyway, I cruised it around Sunday in 84. That was pretty good for me.”

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Here are some other subjects Nicklaus touched on.