USA Today via Reuters
Feb 20, 2021; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Dustin Johnson hits from the second hole tee box during the third round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Feb 20, 2021; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Dustin Johnson hits from the second hole tee box during the third round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The summer Olympics is scheduled to take place in 2021 after initially being postponed last year. The prestigious summer games will take place in Tokoyo, and golf is one of the 33 sports that will be played this year. Numerous professionals will try their luck at winning the coveted gold medal, but World No 1 Dustin Johnson won’t be one of them.
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Dustin Johnson has announced that he will skip the Olympics this year to focus on the PGA Tour. It doesn’t come out as a surprise since he was always on the fence about taking part in the men’s Olympic golf tournament.
The men’s golf tournament at the Olympics is scheduled to start on July 29 and go on till August 1, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in a city called Saitama. However, it is quite disappointing to know that Dustin Johnson will not take part in the event.
#Tokyo2020 vu du ciel ! 🚁🇯🇵
Le Country Club de Kasumigaseki qui accueillera les épreuves de golf de @Tokyo2020, se trouve à Kawagoe dans la préfecture de Saitama et peut accueillir jusqu'à 25 000 spectateurs. 📸⛳️@ffgolf @GolfCanadaFr @IGFgolf pic.twitter.com/LeifVieKtm
— #Tokyo2020 en français (@Tokyo2020fr) January 8, 2021
However, there are various reasons why Dustin Johnson does not want to take part in the Olympic Games
Why is Dustin Johnson not playing at the Tokyo Olympics?
It would be a huge honor for Johnson to represent his nation at the grandest stage, but the 2021 PGA Tour schedule is so packed that there’s hardly any layoff time in between tournaments.
“It’s right in the middle of a big stretch of golf for me, so that was the reason I was kind of waffling on it a little bit,” Johnson mentioned.
From the bushes and over a tree. 😲@DJohnsonPGA couldn't help but smile after this par-save.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2021
“It’s a long way to travel, and I think the WGC [World Golf Championship event] is the week right after it. The British is a couple weeks before,” he added.
The pandemic has caused a lot of chaos in every sport and golf is no exception. The PGA Tour has a jam-packed schedule for this season, and Dustin Johnson wants to prioritize on The Open Championship (July 15-18) and the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (August 5-8).
The men’s Olympic Golf tournament is crammed between these two important tournaments. While Dustin Johnson gets an automatic qualification for Tokyo due to his ranking, the 36-year-old is passing on the opportunity.
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 12, 2021; Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA; Dustin Johnson lines up his putt on the seventh green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
“I think if there was a little more time, especially if you weren’t trying to fly right from Tokyo to Memphis and play the WGC, I definitely would have thought about it a lot more,” Johnson added to his statements.
Had he played, Dustin Johnson would’ve been the prime favorite to clinch gold at the Olympics. The United States still has a strong list of contingents who can add to the medal tally at the summer games.
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