16 May 2024 , 15:21
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LIV Golf star Dustin Johnson had a moment to forget as he made a brutal start to the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky.
The two-time major champion, playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose in Thursday's opening round, made a sluggish start and was one-under-par in serene conditions after five holes. But on his sixth hole, the 424-yard par-four 15th, things went from bad to worse for the American.
Attempting to fade his drive into the fairway, Johnson pulled his drive straight left, over the heads of the crowd watching one of the marquee groups for the opening round. Johnson's tee shot travelled just 156 yards and settled down next to a tree, with one member of the ESPN commentary crew describing his strike off the tee as "dangerous".
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He had no choice other than to punch out of the trees, but he failed to execute with his second shot and did not even get close to the fairway. With his third, he was able to advance the ball to within 108 yards of the green and after flicking a wedge onto the dancefloor, he failed to get up and down, making a double bogey to drop to three-over-par for the tournament.
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Johnson is already eight shots behind leader Xander Schauffele, who made the early running with five birdies on his opening nine. Tony Finau is at four-under. Many viewers gave Johnson little chance of adding to his major championship collection after the uncharacteristic error.
"Dustin Johnson has forgotten how to play golf since going to LIV," one user said of the 4Aces captain." Another wrote: "Dustin Johnson is not a good golfer anymore. Sheesh." A third said: "Dustin Johnson doing everything he can to never play another 72-hole event in his life."
Johnson's tee shot found a horrible lie in the trees (ESPN)And a four posted: "Dustin Johnson is the epitome of what’s wrong with LIV. Guy got his money and he very obviously does not care about playing golf anymore. Very unserious and non-competitive league."
Johnson has one victory on LIV this season, winning in Las Vegas, but he has had a downturn of form in recent weeks, finishing no better than in 21st place until a seventh-place finish in Singapore earlier this month.
The 39-year-old also had a miserable time at The Masters, carding rounds of 78 and 79 to finish at 13-over-par and miss the cut at Augusta National.