Dustin Johnson has made a surprise decision with his favorite major on the horizon.
In 2009, Johnson teed off at the Ailsa Course in Turnberry and the rest, as they say, is history.
4
Johnson made his first appearance at the Open Championship as a 24-year-old in 2009Credit: Getty
The 42-year-old has appeared in 16 straight Open Championships since 2009.
He has never won the event, also known as the British Open, with his best result coming in 2011 when he tied Phil Mickelson for second place.
Johnson has not won a major in six years, and he will not participate in his final opportunity to do so in 2026.
The two-time major winner will not tee up at Royal Birkdale for his 17th consecutive appearance at the Open Championship in July.
READ MORE ON GOLF
This year’s event is returning to Birkdale for the first time since Jordan Speith lifted the Claret Jug in 2017.
Johnson was initially listed in the field for the Dundonald Links qualifying event on Tuesday June 30, but his name is no longer present.
The Daily Drive’s Bob Harig was the first to report Johnson’s withdrawal from the qualifying event.
“Dustin Johnson was said to be on the fence about final qualifying for the Open and has apparently decided not to go,” Harig tweeted.
“His name is no longer on the draw sheet for Dundonald in Scotland, one of the 4 qualifying venues. 5 players are to come out of each site on Tuesday.”
His absence will also end a streak of 38 consecutive major starts.
4
Johnson has withdrawn from the Dundonald Links qualifying event taking place on Tuesday June 30Credit: Getty
4
His withdrawal ends his 17-year consecutive streak at the Open, and his 38-straight Majors streakCredit: Getty
He had qualified automatically for the tournament in recent years thanks to exemptions 2016 U.S Open win and his 2020 Masters victory.
Despite making the cut in all three Majors this year, he has managed just one top-20 finish in his last 15 major starts.
This season he finished tied 33rd at The Masters, tied 44th at the PGA Championship and tied 32nd at the U.S. Open.
Johnson has slipped down the world rankings since making the controversial decision to join LIV Golf four years ago.
Amid questions over it’s future, LIV are currently on an extended break, and it will resume at it’s UK event at the JCB Golf & Country Club in July.
He was not the only LIV member to make the decision to drop out.
Read More on talkSPORT
4
Johnson made the decision to join LIV Golf in 2022Credit: Getty
David Puig of Spain and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico also withdrew and will not go throw with final qualifying.
Stay up to date with the Golf across all our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET