HUMBLE, Texas – Dustin Johnson, one of the pre-tournament favorites, withdrew Thursday after a first-round 80 at the Shell Houston Open.
When he finished his round, Johnson was last among the 144 players in the field. No official reason was given for his withdrawal.
Johnson made two double bogeys in his first four holes, then made a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 6, when he twice found the water. The 7-over 43 was the worst nine-hole score of his PGA Tour career.
Johnson made a brief rally, playing his next nine holes in 4 under, but he went bogey-par-double to close out his worst round on the PGA Tour since a third-round 84 at the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions.
Prior to this week, Johnson hadn’t finished worse than sixth in five stroke-play starts this season.