It was the par-4, 6th hole at the JCB Golf and Country Club. Dustin Johnson was playing in the LIV Golf UK Pro-Am alongside the likes of Ashley Mullin from the YouTube channel The Golf Supply. The content creator was having his fair share of trouble at the course. Just then, he went and asked the 4Aces GC skipper, “How many over-par are you?” His answer? A stare into the very soul of Mullins, followed by a disappointed reply with a shake of the head, “I’m not over par.” 

The official handle of the 4Aces GC uploaded a snippet of the same to their Instagram, showcasing how the American golfer walked away from the interview after his disappointed response. Literal chills from the cold shoulder! Anyhow, seeing as how the 40-year-old turned away from the creator to avoid any more questions, one can’t help but be reminded of a similar awkward interview in 2017. Back then, Dustin Johnson had been mistaken for Zach Johnson in an interview.

Shocked? Well, it’s natural to be so. Now, let’s revisit the entire episode of this hilarious incident. And we use ‘hilarious’ because it was just a funny prank—and a very effective one too. It was the 2017 Abu Dhabi Championship when a TV journalist, ‘The Awkward Reporter’, from the make-believe channel ‘The Mirage Sports Media’, interacted with the then-PGA Tour Pro Johnson.

The reporter, guided in an earpiece by European professionals Chris Wood and Nicolas Colsaerts, invited the unsuspecting golfer for an interview. And what he asked made Dustin Johnson actually awkward. “You’re a two-time major winning champion. You’ve won the Masters, you’ve won the Open. what’s next for Zach Johnson?” quizzed the interviewer.

“Dustin Johnson, bruv!” replied the pro, shocked, and repeated the same one more time. The ‘Awkward Reporter’ responded surprisingly to that and acted out the same in a top-notch manner. “You’re Dustin? Ahh… We don’t have any [questions]… Thank you so much. What was it again? John?… Dustin Johnson… Thank you!” The future LIV Golf Pro could only look forward dumbfoundedly as he gave a thumbs-up to the camera and the interviewer. It was possibly one of the funniest instances that day. That was until Rickie Fowler’s interview.

Rickie Fowler’s interview and Dustin Johnson’s awkward one—which is funnier?

“Okay, we got Rickie Fowler coming up. Give us the longest soundcheck in history,” instructed the man behind the earpiece, Chris Wood. And he checked the sound, he did. The ‘Awkward Reporter’ stood beside the golfer while speaking into the mic, “Yes. 1, 2… check 1, 2… Sorry [To Fowler]… check 1, 2, 1, 2… Surround Sound… Ketchup…” He then turned to the pro and apologized once more.

After the hilarious ‘sound-check’, one would assume the interview to start, but instead, the journalist asked the professional, “Sorry, just a… could you say ketchup three times? They’ve got sound problems at the back.” His reply was, funnily enough, what you expected it to be; “Ketchup. Ketchup… [pauses for a second]… Ketchup.” The reporter then just thanked him, turned around, and walked off, leaving another dumbfounded athlete at the tee box. “Thanks very much, Rickie, cheers!”

These were but a couple of the comical interactions that the ‘Awkward Reporter’ had with the golfers in the field. But out of the two, which one did you think was more funny? The Dustin Johnson-Zach Johnson swap? Or the Rickie Fowler ketchup combo? Let us know below!