Dustin Johnson’s major question looms over Oakmont return

Nine years ago, Dustin Johnson, then the No. 3-ranked player in the world, arrived at Oakmont and authored the defining moment of his golfing career.

Plagued by bad luck and close calls to that point, the long-bombing Johnson entered the 2016 U.S. Open still in search of his first career major — looking for the victory that his rare combination of effortless power and accuracy always said he was destined to secure. But Johnson’s major championship scars were deep and carried a weight, even if he’d never let you know it.

There was the final-round 82 that saw him squander a three-shot lead at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Next came the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where Johnson grounded his club in what he thought was a trampled area, only to discover it was designated as a bunker. That one-stroke penalty knocked him out of the playoff. At the 2011 Open Championship, Johnson rode up the leaderboard in the final round before blasting his 2-iron out of bounds on the 14th hole to doom his Claret Jug chances. The 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay saw Johnson have a 12-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win his first major. He three-putted and Jordan Spieth took home the trophy.

By the time the 2016 U.S. Open rolled around, the 31-year-old Johnson was surrounded by questions about whether he’d ever rise to the heights many envisioned when he burst onto the PGA Tour scene. That week at Oakmont, Johnson silenced them.

Johnson was brilliant at Oakmont. He gained 2.4 strokes per round off the tee. He ranked first in greens hit, 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach and was in the top 30 in both around the green and putting. He won by three shots over Shane Lowry, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy. He would have won by four if not for a questionable penalty that rocked the final round until Johnson made it moot.

That was the day Dustin Johnson vanquished his major championship demons and joined the fraternity he was born to be part of.

Nine years later, things mostly look the same for Johnson.

He still saunters around the course seemingly without a care in the world. His athletic, 6-foot-4 frame still effortlessly ships balls out into the sky. He still has that same swagger and demeanor as when he was racking up PGA Tour wins. There’s grey in his beard now. The Taylormade hat that he wore for years replaced by a Four Aces cap after his move to LIV Golf.

But the golf — the championship level, can dominate any track golf — has seemingly disappeared.

Since 2023, Johnson has missed five cuts in 10 major starts. He was on track to play the weekend at the Masters before bogeying 17 and doubling 18 to book a Friday flight home. He missed the cut by a mile at the 2025 PGA Championship. He hasn’t won on LIV since last February in Las Vegas. He is now the 173rd-ranked player in the world per Data Golf, which counts LIV Golf events. Per Data Golf’s Adjusted Strokes Gained metric, Johnson is gaining 0.40 strokes per round off the tee this season. That ranks 12th on LIV and would have him tied for 31st on the PGA Tour with Steven Fisk. Johnson is losing strokes on approach and around the green. He is only gaining 0.03 tee-to-green per round. That would have him tied for 49th on the PGA Tour with Sami Valimaki.

In 2020, when Johnson won his last major at the fall Masters, he gained 1.63 strokes per round tee-to-green. Even during his final PGA Tour season in 2022, Johnson gained 1.30 strokes per round tee-to-green.

And yet, he arrives at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, the sight of his crowning achievement, feeling close as all elite golfers do.

“It was nice to finally see the game progress a little bit,” Johnson said Tuesday at Oakmont about his T10 finish at LIV Virginia. “I know my score didn’t reflect it at the PGA, but I actually played way better than the score. I just struggled a little bit on the greens. Well, maybe that’s an understatement. I struggled really bad on the greens.

“Golf is a strange sport,” Johnson continued. “I don’t feel like I’ve slipped any. My scores haven’t reflected, but it is a really fine line. I remember a few years ago, I missed two cuts in a row. I think I shot 80-80, and then I won the next week. For me, it’s always really close to being good, but just getting back there and keeping it consistent which over the last couple months I’m starting to see a lot of patterns and the game feels like it’s coming back into good form.”

At LIV Virginia, Johnson gained 1.39 strokes per round and 0.78 off the tee. That was his third-best strokes gained performance of the year behind LIV Mexico City and LIV Singapore.

Perhaps the game is coming around for Johnson as he arrives back at Oakmont, where a bigger question about his golfing future is starting to loom.

Johnson needed a special invitation to get into the 2025 PGA Championship field. The 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush will be his final Open Championship exemption from his 2020 Masters win. Johnson is exempt into the U.S. Open through next year’s edition at Shinnecock, but then his 10-year grant from his 2016 win runs out.

Given the extended lull in Johnson’s game, his age, the LIV Golf part of the equation and the constant questions about his dedication to bettering his craft, it’s fair to wonder if we’re starting to exit the Dustin Johnson era of major championship golf outside of the Masters. Johnson can still receive exemptions from the PGA of America. The USGA and R&A have created a LIV Golf exemption that would require him to be the top non-exempt player in the standings. He could grind through local and final qualifying. All are options.

But as Dustin Johnson searches to get on the other side of the “fine line” where he can be Dustin Johnson again, the sand is pouring out of his major championship hourglass.

Nine years ago, Dustin Johnson did what he was born to do in taming Oakmont to become a U.S. Open champion at a course where only the elite win. It was golf destiny realized.

Now, with the sun seemingly starting to set on his Hall of Fame career, Dustin Johnson arrives back at Oakmont knowing the shadows are longer than they’ve ever been, but believing he can still outrun the fading light with the same equation that made him into a golfing legend: a gracefully powerful swing, effortless precision and an unflappable demeanor.

For Dustin Johnson, that was enough in 2016. It has always been enough. But at Oakmont, with reminders of what was everywhere, it’s fair to wonder if his search will yield the desired results.

If we’ll ever see that Dustin Johnson again.

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