Dustin Johnson claims he didn’t say quote attributed to him bashing PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan
After his 4 Aces won the team portion of LIV Golf Adelaide on Sunday, Dustin Johnson reportedly took some shots at the PGA Tour and specifically Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“We don’t give a damn how he feels. We know how he feels about us, so it’s mutual,” Johnson told the Australian Associated Press.
On Monday, David Winkle, the CEO and President of Hambric Sports, which represents Johnson along with other golfers such as Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler, sent an email to more than 20 journalists and voices that cover the game and claimed it was an “erroneous quote.”
“I spoke with Dustin from Singapore this morning at which time he emphatically denied making any such statement. He elaborated by saying his actual response to the question was “no comment,” but mentioned that others interviewed may have answered differently,” Winkle wrote. “Dustin remains grateful for his time on the PGA Tour and has the utmost respect for Commissioner Monahan.”
Johnson resigned his PGA Tour membership in June after reportedly signing a deal that exceeded $100 million to join LIV Golf. Of the former Tour stars who have left for the breakaway tour, Johnson has been careful not to bash the circuit that helped make him a star in the game. He went 5-0 at the last Ryder Cup for Team USA and is considered the most likely LIV golfer to be considered for the U.S. team that will attempt to retain the Cup on foreign soil later this year if LIV players are selected for the team.
There was no mention in the email of walking back comments Johnson made about Talor Gooch, his former 4 Aces teammate who jumped to the RangeGoats and claimed the individual title.
“Well, yeah, I didn’t want him to win. I never want any other team to win than mine,” Johnson told media. “Yeah, obviously I like Talor, and he did really well for us last year, and obviously he played great this week. But yeah, I’m glad we snipped him, for sure, just to give it to him a little bit more.”
