World’s No. 1 golfer Dustin Johnson to play in Palmetto Championship in Jasper County
South Carolina native and World No. 1 golfer Dustin Johnson is the latest to commit to the Palmetto Championship at Congaree next month — a move that may draw more pros to rural Jasper County.
The tournament, replacing the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open because of COVID-19 precautions, is scheduled for June 10-13 at the Congaree Golf Club. It will be the third PGA Tour event in South Carolina in as many months, following tournaments on Hilton Head Island and Kiawah Island.
Johnson committed to playing in the tournament Sunday night, Bruce Davidson, the Congaree’s director of golf announced Monday at an event overlooking the course’s 18th hole.
Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, South Carolina native, and one of Congaree Golf Club’s pro ambassadors, also spoke at the event. A big smile came across his face when he heard the news about Johnson at Congaree.
Glover said he’d been preaching about the impressiveness of the course as well as the philanthropy tied to the club in hopes other players would join the tournament.
He said he and Johnson had a 45-minute conversation on the putting green at Harbour Town Golf Links during the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing last month, and Johnson told him it was “definitely on the radar” but scheduling had to be figured out.
“I don’t know how much I had to do with (Johnson) coming. I just made sure he knew the people here wanted him here, and I think he already knew that,” Glover said. “Dustin committed last night, and that’s huge because automatically other players see that and go, ‘Dustin’s going, maybe I’ll have a look.’ ... and hopefully that’ll have a domino effect.”
Johnson, who attended Dutch Fork High School and played at Coastal Carolina, has 24 victories on the PGA Tour and three others worldwide. He earned his second major championship at the 2020 Masters in November, when he won by five strokes and became the first player with a 72-hole score lower than 270. He won the FedExCup for the first time in 2020 and currently is ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the tournament at the Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville. Tour officials haven’t said exactly how many spectators that will be, but they said it will be comparable to the RBC Heritage, which sold 27,000 tickets.
Daily and weekly tickets are available, and a parking pass is required for each vehicle.
The fan guide to safety policies for the event, including mask requirements, is posted at www.pgatour.com/knowbeforeyougo.html.
