Dustin Johnson Accepts $125 Million To Ditch The PGA For Saudi LIV Golf League

ByJoey Heldon June 8, 2022inArticles›Sports News

Dustin Johnson has had a successful PGA Tour career. He’s managed several victories — including winning the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters — and has made millions of dollars along the way.

However, the 37-year-old apparently is looking for more. He’s among the golfers involved with the controversial LIV Golf league, the upstart league that’s setting out to compete with the PGA Tour. The league, fronted by Greg Norman , is backed by the Saudi government, which has not been shy about offering huge sums of money to pro golfers, hoping to lure them to compete.

The move has worked. Johnson, who previously expressed his commitment to the PGA Tour, is among the headliners for the inaugural LIV Golf event in London June 9-11. He’s received a reported $125 million to participate. This first event has a purse of $25 million, more than anything the PGA currently offers. In fact, Johnson is so onboard with LIV Golf that he announced his resignation from the PGA Tour .

Dustin Johnson Accepts $125 Million To Ditch The PGA For Saudi LIV Golf League - 1

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The PGA Tour has been adamant that it won’t stand for players participating in LIV events, saying in a statement they’ll enact “disciplinary action.” While it’s unclear what action they will (or even legally can) take, we’re about to find out in the coming weeks. The PGA Tour hosts many of the events in the traditional golf season and can choose how those tournaments operate. Where things get tricky is with the majors — golf’s most popular events.

Each major is governed by different bodies outside of the PGA Tour’s control. For example, Augusta National Golf Club hosts the Masters, while The British Open is run by R&A. PGA of America (a different entity than the PGA Tour) controls the PGA championship.

Just one week after the LIV’s first tournament, the U.S. Open is scheduled to tee off. The United States Golf Association oversees the U.S. Open and will have to make some tough decisions about who’s allowed to play in this year’s event.

Mickelson’s words drew harsh criticism, and he hasn’t participated in a PGA event since. But he recently joined the LIV playing field, receiving a reported $200 million to play.

The PGA Tour has spent months warning of the consequences of joining LIV. Now we’ll learn how they’ll put those promises into action.

  • First He Signed A $125 Million Contract, And Now Dustin Johnson Has Made Even More Insane Money After Just Five LIV Golf Events
  • How One Extremely Unlucky Shot Cost PGA Star Dustin Johnson A Small Fortune
  • Phil Mickelson Got Paid $200 Million To Play In The LIV Golf League
  • Phil Mickelson’s Career Earnings Just Crossed $1 Billion Thanks To LIV League Payday
  • Wait, Tiger Woods Turned Down HOW Much Money From LIV Golf?
  • Why Are A Bunch Of Golfers Abandoning The PGA For A Brand New Saudi-Backed League? (Spoiler: Massive Amounts Of Money)