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Dustin Johnson headlines first LIV Golf field: Golf Twitter left stunned

By Cody Williams

May 12, 2022; McKinney, Texas, USA; Dustin Johnson watches his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2022; McKinney, Texas, USA; Dustin Johnson watches his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports /
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The field for the first LIV Golf event in London has finally been announced and Dustin Johnson headlining the group left fans and media members shocked.

For a long time, it’s felt like the Saudi government-backed and Greg Norman-headed LIV Golf might be a disaster that never got off the ground. Yet, they’ve pressed forward amid much warranted criticism while maintaining that they were going to draw some big names. But with the first event in London slated for June 9-12, they kept delaying the announcement of the field.

While that was met with more skepticism as they kept postponing the announcement, it finally came on Tuesday just over a week before the first event.

And while many of the expected players like Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen and others were a part of it, perhaps the most shocking of the group heading to play in the Saudi-backed league was 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson.

LIV Golf London field announced: Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia headlining

In alphabetical order, here’s a look at the first LIV Golf field for the London event.

  • Oliver Bekker
  • Richard Bland
  • Laurie Canter
  • Ratchanon Chantananuwat
  • Hennie Du Plessis
  • Oliver Fisher
  • Sergio Garcia
  • Talor Gooch
  • Branden Grace
  • Justin Harding
  • Sam Horsfield
  • Dustin Johnson
  • Matt Jones
  • Sadom Kaewkanjana
  • Martin Kaymer
  • Phachara Khongwatmai
  • Sihwan Kim
  • Ryosuke Kinoshita
  • Chase Koepka
  • Jinichiro Kozuma
  • Pablo Larrazabal
  • Graeme McDowell
  • Jediah Morgan
  • Kevin Na
  • Shaun Norris
  • Andy Ogletree
  • Louis Oosthuizen
  • Wade Ormsby
  • Adrian Otaegui
  • Turk Pettit
  • James Piot
  • Ian Poulter
  • David Puig
  • JC Ritchie
  • Charl Schwartzel
  • Hudson Swafford
  • Hideto Tanihara
  • Peter Uihlein
  • Scott Vincent
  • Lee Westwood
  • Bernd Wiesberger
  • Blake Windred

That’s 42 golfers listed there and the field will be 48 players deep. As Dan Rapaport noted in his release of the field, five spots will go to players who qualify via the Asian Tour. The heavy implication is that the final spot will go to Phil Mickelson, whose flirtations with LIV Golf have been widely noted.

Golf Twitter reacts to first LIV Golf field, Dustin Johnson going over

Johnson, however, was the big shocker (as is a guy like Talor Gooch). He had seemingly been committed to the PGA Tour but to see him heading to London is truly mind-blowing. And golf Twitter reacted accordingly to his inclusion.

It’s truly wild to see Johnson, who said he remained committed to the PGA Tour earlier this year, make this decision. And it will certainly be met with criticism considering the atrocities committed by the Saudi government and their financial backing of this league.

With this decision, though, this makes the LIV Golf event in London and the league as a whole something to wholly keep an eye on as we move forward into this new world for the sport.

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