LIV Golf 2026 Season Player Preview: Dustin Johnson

The 2026 LIV Golf season starts next February under the lights in Riyadh, and in the next few months, we’ll take a detailed look at each player competing next season. Next up is two-time major champion and captain of 4Aces GC, Dustin Johnson .

LOOKING AHEAD

At 41, Dustin Johnson’s peak years are likely behind him, but history is littered with major champions who remained dangerous well into their 40s. Johnson still possesses one of the purest ball-striking games on the planet, and when his putter cooperates, he can hang with anyone in the LIV Golf field. The 4Aces will need Johnson to return to form if they are to break a winless streak that has reached 33 consecutive tournaments (30 regular season, three Team Championships).

Johnson is exempt into The Masters (lifetime exemption) and the U.S. Open (final year remaining from his 2016 win at Oakmont) but will need to qualify for both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. Last year, he needed (and received) a special invitation from the PGA of America to compete at Quail Hollow.

LOOKING BACK

The 4Aces had hoped Dustin Johnson would rediscover the dominant form that once made him the game’s most feared player, but his 2025 LIV Golf season proved frustratingly inconsistent. The two-time major champion managed five top-10 finishes and salvaged his year with a third-place run in the finale at LIV Golf Indianapolis, but he ended 14th in the individual standings and failed to win an individual trophy for the first time in his LIV Golf career. For most players, finishing inside the Lock Zone would be a strong season, but expectations remain higher for the former world No. 1.

WHAT THE STATS SAY

Strengths: Johnson has been one of the best ball-strikers on the planet for most of his career. Last season, he ranked 11th in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (+0.37) and 21st in Strokes Gained: Approach (+0.21). Those numbers are strong, but not quite as elite as golf fans have grown accustomed to. Johnson ranked T12 in the league in driving distance, so he can still get it out there. However, he hit only 58% of his fairways, which was roughly league average.

Johnson had a strong season with the putter. He ranked 17th in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.14) which is plenty good enough to pair with his elite ball striking.

Weaknesses: Johnson had a woeful year around the greens in 2025. He ranked 47th in the league in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, losing 0.36 strokes to the field per round.

Johnson struggled to keep big numbers off the card, making bogey on 17% of his holes, which was the worst rate of any player in the top-14 of the standings.

CAREER RESULTS

LIV GOLF REGULAR SEASON

TOTAL TROPHIES WON (11)

LIV GOLF CAREER SCORING

Stroke Average Total: 69.20
Round 1 Average: 68.65
Round 2 Average: 69.35
Round 3 Average: 69.59

Lowest Round: 62

BOTTOM LINE

Johnson didn’t meet expectations in 2025, but that doesn’t mean he can’t regain the form that made him one of the league’s best players in 2022 and 2023. He showed flashes of brilliance towards the end of last season. If he can sharpen his game around the green game and keep bogeys off the card at a more consistent clip in 2026, he’s a strong candidate to return to the winner’s circle.