Dustin Johnson won’t go for gold
American prioritizing British Open, Playoffs
The Olympics golf tournament has its first confirmed no-show: Dustin Johnson. The world No. 5 plans to focus on the FedExCup Playoffs rather than pursue a gold medal in Tokyo in July.
Johnson’s manager, David Winkle, confirmed the decision to Golfweek on Monday. “Dustin gave the Olympics a great deal of thought and we discussed the pros and cons of him participating at length,” Winkle wrote in an email.
“At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal preference and priority. As much as he would be honored to be an Olympian, the FedExCup Playoffs are also very important to him. “Having had a few close calls in the Playoffs, he really wants to win them before his time is done and feels that he wouldn’t be giving himself the best opportunity to do so if he added a lengthy international trip just prior to their beginning.”
Johnson will compete in the British Open July 16-19 at Royal St George’s, where he almost won in 2011. The first round of the Olympics at Kasumigaseki
Golf Club is July 30. The first Playoff event begins 11 days after the Olympics with the Northern Trust in Boston.
Four Americans will qualify for the Games based on the world golf ranking. Currently Johnson is in the third team spot behind Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. Koepkarecently downplayed the importance of the Olympics, saying he views the four majors and the FedExCup as more important.
With Johnson confirmed out and Koepka sounding ambivalent, two men not currently in the top four Americans might qualify to join Thomas and Patrick Cantlay in Japan: Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed, who are the fifth and sixth-ranked U.S. players. The seventhranked American: Tiger Woods.