Not his first time at Oakmont, after all; he had a victory there. He won the U.S. Open in 2016, and that was his first-ever major win, but definitely not the last. After that, he won the Masters Tournament in 2020. That’s a huge achievement. Things haven’t gone his way since then. He left the PGA Tour and joined LIV Golf, and for a lot of players, that move has come with a price. Dustin Johnson hasn’t won a single LIV event this year, and his showing at majors has also been abysmal. He missed the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship, and if it weren’t for his previous wins, he might not have even made it to the majors. At Oakmont, too, things didn’t go as planned.
He missed the cut after shooting 10 over par in 36 holes. That kind of finish stings, especially for Johnson, who’s been chasing another major for the past five years. However much this must have stung, he had his wife to go back to for comfort. She’s been a regular presence for Dustin at nearly every big tournament—whether it was the PGA Tour in the past or LIV Golf now, she’s been part of that journey from day one. Just a couple of days before the U.S. Open began, she posted a photo with DJ, and the caption was simple but powerful.
“Nobody else.” Those two words might seem normal, but they meant a lot. That post came off as a strong message of confidence and belief in her husband, especially at a place like Oakmont, where the pressure was sky-high, especially when you have made history at the course before. In a sport where your mental game is everything, even just 2 words of support can go a long way. Anyways, after the tough and emotional last couple of days, Paulina maintained silence on the missed cut. That silence is now broken on Father’s Day.
She posted an Instagram story, sharing a childhood photo of her with her great dad, Wayne Gretzky, and wrote, “The safest place in the world was always with you. Happy Father’s Day, @waynegretzky.” She was born to one of the greatest hockey players on December 19, 1988. Growing up in a sports family, Paulina Gretzky was raised around greatness, focus, and the kind of pressure most people can’t imagine. She might be showing up for Johnson silently amid the major heartbreak.
What many don’t know is that her father played a key role in bringing Paulina and Johnson together.
How did Wayne Gretzky connect Paulina and Dustin Johnson?
Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky were introduced in 2009 after Johnson played in a pro-am with Paulina’s mother, Janet. Shen then invited him to dinner. Soon after the somewhat awkward first meeting, the couple started dating. But during a Q&A session on Instagram, Paulina admitted that when her father first met Dustin, he immediately liked him and told her, “You should marry him.”
Wayne also gave her a great piece of dating advice: if she ever felt confused, she should list the pros and cons. If the person had more pros than cons, then it should be a yes. If it weren’t for Wayne, the couple might have never taken the final step. Paulina got engaged to Dustin in 2013, and the couple finally got married in April 2022 at the beautiful Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.
Over the years, their relationship has quietly become one of Dustin’s biggest sources of strength. This time, Dustin fell short, and his career has hit a rough patch. But with Paulina by his side, the real question isn’t can he rise from this career slump, but rather when!
The post Dustin Johnson’s Struggles Go Unmentioned as Paulina Gretzky Pays Tribute to Dad Wayne Gretzky appeared first on EssentiallySports.