ordan Spieth sang Dustin Johnson’s praises last week, describing the LIV Golf League player as a “Hall of Famer” that didn’t create controversy.
Spieth was speaking before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that was eventually won by Justin Rose after his last-minute equipment switch.
Pebble Beach was a venue in which Johnson would typically play with his father-in-law Wayne Gretzky.
Johnson has tasted victory there twice and also posted numerous top-10 finishes.
But Johnson is ineligible from competing in the tournament these days after he resigned from the PGA Tour last June.
“I think DJ being maybe the first one to go over there [to LIV] and somebody who is not, never was really controversial over here and more so just kind of worked his butt off, it paid off, got his breakthrough at the U.S. Open, then went and won the Masters.
“[He’s] just a Hall of Fame player that didn’t create controversy with any other players and played on a bunch of Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams. Represented them really well. He was a friend of mine. He is a friend of mine. I just haven’t seen him.
“But I always really enjoyed playing with him and being around him. He plays fast. Easy to play with. Fun to watch.”
Spieth’s comments were picked upon by Johnson’s mother-in-law Janet Gretzky.
She posted this:
Dustin Johnson’s family respond to Jordan Spieth’s comments
DJ’s brother and caddie Austin Johnson wrote “pure class” underneath the clip posted by GolfDigest.
Johnson will soon be back in action with the LIV Golf League for their second season, which boasts total prize money of $405m.
