Dustin Johnson bagged a whopping $18 million bonus for winning LIV Golf’s individual championship. The American golfer won the title with 121 points from six events. With one event to go, the two-time majors winner took his total earnings from the series to nearly $31 million.
Following the win, Johnson took a jibe at the PGA Tour. The former world no.1, who was the third-highest earning golfer on the PGA Tour, jokingly said that he “really regretted” moving to LIV Golf. The golfer said that he “thought” about his move to the Saudi-backed series every night.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Dustin Johnson said:
"We talked about this yesterday. I really regret my decision to come here. It's just so terrible. I'm sitting there last night thinking about it. It was really bothering me a lot. Yeah, just can't get over it."
Johnson, who defected from the PGA Tour to LIV in June, was being sarcastic. The golfer, who reportedly bagged $125 million as a signing bonus from the new series, sent his fellow golfers into a laughing fit with the comments.
The 38-year-old’s sarcastic comments made the room of media personnel and fellow golfer Harold Varner III laugh. However, it didn’t seem to sit well with the PGA Tour fans.
Reacting to the comments, several fans of the American tour came out to bash Johnson. Many targeted him for disrespecting his former series, while others accused him of being greedy. Dubbing him as being "arrogant," a few fans also schooled Johnson about his past on the PGA Tour.
Meanwhile, some also came in support of the LIV golfer. Amid constant attacks from PGA Tour fans, a few lauded Johnson for his financial achievements from the series.
Dustin Johnson's total earnings from LIV
With his win, it’s safe to say that Dustin Johnson has made the most of his move to the Saudi-backed league. More golfers are likely to consider a jump to LIV by looking at the American golfer’s riches. As per reports, he has earned around $155 million dollars from LIV Golf so far.
Thanks to LIV’s payment-per-event structure, Johnson won more than $12.7 million coming into last week’s Bangkok event. The golfer took his earnings to $31 million with the championship win.
This came on top of the reported $125 million signing bonus he received, making him the most successful golfer on the LIV roster. He is rumored to have overtaken Phil Mickelson as the highest earning golfer in LIV Golf.
To put things into perspective, Dustin Johnson had won only $75 million playing on the PGA Tour throughout his career. He was behind ace golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the PGA’s earnings chart.
Johnson’s $18 million championship bonus is the same amount Rory McIlroy earned for winning the PGA Tour’s season-long FedEx Cup title. Johnson won the same after just six events, with one to spare.
With such hefty paychecks on offer, the golf world must be ready to see more golfers defect to the series from the PGA Tour.