It has been discussed ad nauseam for the past four months, and on Tuesday, the field for the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event was finally made public. Dustin Johnson, the 13th-ranked golfer in the world, leads the list players who will participate in the 48-man, 12-team event at the Centurion Club in London from June 9-11 opposite the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open and the DP World Tour’s Scandinavian Mixed.
Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood were presumed to be the only former world No. 1s to be involved, but the addition of Johnson comes as a major surprise. The 37-year-old has won 24 times on the PGA Tour — including the 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters — and he has been an integral part of the United States side for recent Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups.
“Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it,” said agent David Winkle in a reversal of a stance Johnson took on Feb. 20 that indicated he was “fully-committed” to the PGA Tour.