Dustin Johnson is one of the all-time greats of the game, but at 41 years old, the two-time major winner is approaching the twilight of his career.
He was the first-ever individual champion on LIV Golf back in 2022, but now Dustin Johnson is ranked 639th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Those numbers aren’t totally reflective of his performances, as players don’t receive OWGR points on LIV. But this goes some way to demonstrating how poor Johnson’s major results have been in recent seasons.
He missed the cut in three of the four majors in 2025 and was T23 at The Open Championship. Johnson wasn’t named to Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup team, and was 14th in the LIV standings after a third-place finish to end the season.
But after LIV Golf lost Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour, the Saudi-backed league desperately needs to hold on to its star names. Luckily for them, Johnson just signed a multi-year contract extension.
That means his career should go on for a few years yet, and he detailed an incredibly specific timeline for his retirement a year ago.
Dustin Johnson’s retirement plans, ‘Then I’m going fishing’
Johnson surprised many by joining LIV Golf, and like many superstars, he’s seen his form decline significantly since signing there.
But according to the American, he’s got no plans to retire for now. He told the Associated Press last year, “I think I’ve got another six years in me. I can grind for another six years. And then I’m going fishing.
“I don’t really have a timeline. Just when I don’t enjoy it anymore. Like now, I still enjoy competing. I still want to compete. I still feel like my game is good enough to get back to the top of the golf. I still feel like I’m good enough to do that. Once that goes away, that’s when I’ll stop.”
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Unfortunately for Johnson, he’s got one more year of riding his past successes before having to qualify for the US Open once again. He won the major in 2016, so this is his last year of eligibility for the event.
Despite that, he’s still confident that he’ll be able to climb the OWGR and play in the majors beyond this season. He told reporters ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic, “As long as I play well, I think I’ll get in.
“If I play well, I think I’ll get into them. I want to play and compete. I still feel like I’m good enough to compete with the best. Obviously, this year is a big year. I need to play well. I’m looking forward to it.”
Dustin Johnson reveals the biggest weakness in his game
Last season was the worst in Johnson’s career off the tee. He gained just 0.05 strokes from the tee box on the season, down from 0.51 the season before.
Heading into 2026, Johnson said his struggles with the driver are what have been holding him back. He explained, “I literally spent the whole year trying to find a driver. I struggled, especially through the beginning of the year, even the year before.
“After I won in Vegas, I broke my driver. I literally spent the whole year trying to find one.
“For me, driving is probably the most important thing in my game. I was just struggling to find something that was consistent. If I was driving it good, I was a little off with my irons. If I hit my irons really good, my driver was off. I couldn’t find anything to match.
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“Even this past year, I struggled for the most part. I finally started driving it better about halfway through the year, a little more consistent. I had a few chances to win there at the end of the year. It’s been a little bit of a struggle, a little frustrating. But kind of knew what it was.
“I’ve always been fairly long. I’m not the longest – the kids that come out these days are so long. I’m still long, but really straight. Just not having the confidence in that part of my game has really hurt it.”
If LIV Golf doesn’t secure OWGR points, despite changing to a 72-hole format in a bid to do so, Johnson is in real danger of missing the majors from 2027 onwards. So he needs to find his driver, and find it fast, to perform well at the biggest events this year.
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