Dustin Johnson admits the problem he’s had with his putting throughout his entire golf career, he’s ‘always struggled’ with it

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If Dustin Johnson can replicate his performance on day one of LIV Golf Singapore over the weekend, there are going to be plenty of us who may be left looking a little foolish.

Dustin Johnson has taken a commanding lead at LIV Golf Singapore, with the two-time major champion making eight birdies and shooting a 64 to go three clear of Sebastian Munoz.

It is an incredibly strong comeback from the former world number one. Johnson finished last in Hong Kong after finding himself seven over par over the first two days. A six under par final round was only enough to move himself to within one shot of those tied for 50th.

But he has picked up where he left off. And it seems that trying to address one of the weaknesses in his game has made a big difference.

Dustin Johnson suggests the problem he has had throughout his whole career

Speaking after his opening round, Johnson noted that he was a lot better on the greens than he has been for much of his career.

“Yeah, the putting is good. Obviously I always struggle on say the 20 to 30 feet getting it to the hole. I just have my whole career. So I just worked on that a lot this week, just getting them there, good speed,” he said.

“Obviously the golf course is in perfect condition. Best greens you’re going to putt on pretty much all year. Yeah, obviously rolled in a couple long ones, but hit it really nice, never really got out of position, and gave myself a lot of chances. But I holed two 30-footers on the par-3s, which was nice.”

Dustin Johnson proving a point after finishing last at LIV Golf Hong Kong

Putts per green can be a misleading statistic at times, but it is notable that Johnson is tied for 49th on LIV in that particular category. Just five players have performed worse on the putting surfaces so far this season.

But it is remarkable to see Johnson go from seven over par in two rounds to 14 under par in his next two across the two tournaments. Smylie Kaufman noted that it was ‘sad’ to see Johnson’s decline, with the 2020 Masters champion barely proving to be a factor in the majors in 2024 – missing two cuts.

Obviously, winning a LIV event in Singapore will probably not make the golfing world sit up and take notice. Johnson is definitely not the same player he was around the time he left the PGA Tour.

But perhaps it would be fair to say that reports of the demise of his golf game have indeed been exaggerated.