The 2025 season has been nothing short of dramatic for Dustin Johnson,. And now he’s back in the spotlight–and less for his performance and more for his injury. Let’s go through it. Johnson kicked off the season with a T44 finish at the first LIV Golf event in Riyadh, but that wasn’t it. He hit a new low at the recent LIV event in Hong Kong. A score of 54! Undoubtedly, fans were disappointed once again.
Just when expectations were low, the former World No. 1 made a stunning comeback at the ongoing LIV event in Singapore, despite dealing with the same injury from Hong Kong. In a press conference, Johnson mentioned that he felt something was wrong with either his shoulder or rib. “I hit draws all week. It wasn’t very good until Sunday when I could finally move a little better.” When asked about any differences in his performance between the two weeks, Johnson shook his head. He said, “Nothing changed, other than I feel like I’m swinging a little better. My body is moving better.”
During the first round of LIV Golf Singapore, just a week after his struggles in Hong Kong, Dustin Johnson delivered a bogey-free performance. He scored 8-under 63 and took a three-stroke lead over Sebastian Munoz. Reflecting on his injury, he mentioned that he couldn’t even move his head properly. After receiving treatment following the second round in Hong Kong, he shot a 6-under 64, which was an improvement compared to his scores of 75 on Friday and 72 on Saturday. Though, he still finished last.
The injury clearly affected his performance. Did Johnson excuse his performance because of it? Yes, he said, “I felt like I was swinging good leading into Friday, and then obviously Friday and Saturday, I didn’t swing it that well, but I swung it really nicely on Sunday. It was just, obviously, the body loosened back up, and I could hit the shots that I wanted to.” Unfortunately, his return to form came a bit too late.
Wrote about Dustin Johnson’s retirement for today’s @fried_egg_golf newsletter pic.twitter.com/bkO8R7zNbp
— Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) March 10, 2025
Just a few days ago, the golfer faced heavy criticism for his performance. If it affected him, he didn’t show it in Singapore. However, given his current OWGR ranking of 619, the concern makes sense. Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening with Dustin Johnson.
Dustin Johnson and the curse of bad form in the sport
Just because Dustin Johnson is struggling right now doesn’t imply that he isn’t a good golfer. He held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 135 weeks, placing him behind only Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler for the third-longest streak. Johnson reached his peak in 2017, finishing third at the U.S. Open. It was so good, he still talks about it! In 2024, he discussed how a lower back injury forced him to withdraw from the Masters (2017). He said, “I’d have two Green Jackets,” clearly thinking of what could have been.
Dustin Johnson first donned the green jacket in 2020, but we have yet to see him win another. Following his strong 2017 season, he had several good years with a few wins each year. However, after the 2022 season, his performances began to trend downward. Since joining LIV Golf, he has unfortunately dropped significantly in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). A staggering 606 positions!
His last victory came in February of last year in Las Vegas, and his best finish since then was T7 at LIV Golf’s recent event in Singapore. After a rocky start to this season, he currently sits at 50th in the overall standings. Given his declining performances, fans have started to question whether he is still serious about the sport. Nevertheless, Johnson has won at least once in each of the three seasons of LIV Golf. If he secures a win this year, he will become the first player to win in all four seasons!
So, does Johnson believe he can achieve this? “Well, yeah, it’s always—especially with the strength of field that we have out here. It’s really hard to win. Anytime you can get a win, no matter when it is, it’s always good. Yeah, obviously winning every single year I’ve been on Tour, I’m really proud of it, just as far as keeping my game at a high level for such a long period of time.” It will be tough, but if Johnson is making a comeback, we will see it unfold in real-time! What do you think?
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