In 2024, when Dustin Johnson was playing at The Open Championship, he confessed, “I’ve got confidence in my game, I’m starting to play really nicely, and hopefully, it starts to click, and I have a good end of this season.” And that’s the thing: it hasn’t. Not really. Following his rather moderate finish at The Open (T31), Johnson achieved only one top 10 in 2024, and it came at the 2024 LIV Golf Dallas for stroke play. But will he be able to make a similar “confident” statement this time at Royal Portrush?
The answer to that is “yes,” despite a series of moderate finishes from him in 2025. In his 10 LIV Golf appearances this season, Johnson has achieved a top 10 four times. Outside that, it’s another story. In the first three men’s majors of the season, Dustin Johnson missed the cut in all of them. Now, he’s gearing up for the fourth men’s major at The Open Championship, looking to redeem his previous major performances being a two-time major champion. Thanks to his 2020 Masters win, he even has a spot secured for himself in the event.
For context, there are several ways to secure a spot at The Open, including winning the event, being among the top 50 players on the OWGR, and being among the top 25 in the Final Race to Dubai Rankings (2024), among others. Dustin Johnson’s exemption comes a little later, and it falls under the 9th exemption category: The Masters Tournament Champions for 2020-2025. Since a Masters win grants a five-year exemption, this will be his last year with this exemption.
But what can we expect from Dustin Johnson’s appearance at The Open? Dustin Johnson has struggled in recent majors, with his last top-10 finish at the 2023 U.S. Open, and has missed the cut in six of his last eight major starts. At The Open, Johnson has a record with 15 starts, including a best finish of tied second at the 2011 Royal St. George’s, five top-10 finishes, and 13 cuts made. In his last Royal Portrush outing in 2019, however, he finished a disappointing T51. And the weight of these disappointing finishes seems heavy on Johnson as well.
Dustin Johnson is “frustrated” with his current form
Dustin Johnson’s performance at the 2025 LIV Andalucia has shown promising signs of resurgence after a challenging period. Following a tough first round where he shot 4 over par, Johnson made a remarkable comeback in the second round, carding a sizzling 64 with seven birdies. On Sunday, he shot 72 and eventually finished T7.
Reflecting on his struggles, Johnson expressed at the 2025 LIV Golf Andalucia, “It definitely gets frustrating when you feel like you’re playing really good golf. You’re just not getting the results that you think you should be getting with the way you’re playing and the way you’re swinging at it.” Given a lack of wins and a solid performance, the LIV golfer has slipped out of the top 900 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) as well. The frustration is evidently heavy on him. He continued, “I feel like the game, the swing is really good. I’m seeing a lot of — hitting a lot of really good shots.”
Despite his recent challenges, Johnson maintains his signature swagger and confidence. He acknowledged the fine line in golf between success and failure, stating, “Golf is a strange sport.” It indeed is. And if he secures a top 10 finish at Royal Portrush this week, it will also grant him access to next year’s The Open Championship.
The post Is Dustin Johnson Playing in the Open 2025 at Royal Portrush? appeared first on EssentiallySports.