Dustin Johnson’s golf has undoubtedly suffered since he joined LIV Golf from the PGA Tour way back in June 2022.
Johnson was the best golfer on the planet up until July 2021 but he has regressed badly since then, with his move to LIV Golf believed to have contributed to his downfall.
Since the man from South Carolina joined LIV, he has recorded just two top-10 finishes in the majors and has missed six cuts.
However, the 41-year-old still has the hunger to return to his peak.
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Johnson believes he has around six years of elite golf left in him, and he would obviously love to win a major again.
He is currently ranked as the world’s 639th best golfer.
The Official World Golf Rankings are obviously skewed right now because LIV Golf do not receive ranking points.
World number 639 Dustin Johnson says OWGR rankings are skewed
The OWGR released a statement regarding LIV’s application for ranking points at the end of last year.
The statement was a word salad more than anything – it didn’t give us any real indication of how LIV’s application has been received.
Since the end of June, the Governing Board has endeavoured to thoroughly evaluate the LIV Golf application.
“We remain committed to the OWGR’s mission, which requires honouring the meritocracy woven into the professional game.
“As such, discussions have been regular and remain ongoing. To be clear, progress has been made, but there is no decision to share at this time.
“We will continue to work closely with LIV Golf as it continues to evolve to ensure its application is handled with fairness, integrity and consistency, as stated previously.“
Make of that what you will.
Johnson certainly believes that LIV should receive ranking points.
When speaking to Today’s Golfer, Johnson was asked to give his opinion on the fact that LIV Golf are still yet to receive recognition from the Official World Golf Rankings.
“That’s obviously definitely going to be big, which, more my opinion, we should have already had them,“ Johnson admitted.
“But it’s looking like we’ll get them this year, starting for the first event, hopefully. I don’t know, I don’t sit on the board of the world rankings.“
Dustin Johnson suggests where he should really be ranked
Johnson then suggested what a fair ranking would be for himself right now.
He said: “Hopefully we do get them just because they don’t really reflect the actual standings of golf right now, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell [Hatton] and Joaquin [Niemann] and Bryson [DeChambeau].
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“Myself, I’m like a thousand, I don’t even know (he’s 639th), with my play over the last little while, I would say [I’m] 40, 45. I haven’t played up to my standards. But somewhere around there.”
Johnson is right in what he says, although maybe he wouldn’t be ranked quite as high as 40th, given his performances in the majors.
A compromise has to be found quickly.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are top-5 ranked players in the world, regardless of what the OWGR says.
Some kind of agreement will surely be reached soon and if LIV do obtain world ranking points, they may well then be able to attract bigger names.
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