Dustin Johnson had everyone’s attention Friday morning. With a birdie on the par-4 10th at Shinnecock Hills, he was within one of the lead at the 126th U.S. Open.
And then he reminded everyone why he hasn’t had a top-20 in a major in three years.
Johnson played his next five holes in 8 over par to go from 4 under to 4 over. It began at the 154-yard, par-3 11th, where he hit his tee shot into the front greenside bunker and had his second shot roll off the green and into an adjacent greenside bunker. That led to a double.
Johnson bogeyed the par-4 12th after an errant tee shot, bogeyed the par-4 13th after a poor approach shot, and then imploded on the par-4 15th.
After hitting his approach shot from the rough into another greenside bunker, he again had his next shot roll off the green and into different bunker.
But, this time, things got even worse.
Johnson’s fourth shot landed short of the green and rolled back into the sand, nearly hitting his left foot. He then skulled his fifth shot over the green, left himself 23 feet after his sixth, and two-putted for an snowman.
The quadruple-bogey 8 dropped him into a tie for 66th – from solo second to outside the projected cut line in five holes. He did bounce back, somewhat, with a birdie at the 16th hole and a pair of closing pars. Johnson followed his opening 66 with a 77 to finish at 3 over par (T-54 and inside the projected number when he signed his card).
Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open champ and 2020 Masters winner, has two top-20 major finishes since joining LIV Golf in 2022.
