Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again. The Masters are upon us, and over the past two years, it seems one new constant has emerged to take Tiger Woods' vacant throne as the king of the PGA: Dustin Johnson.
Golf observers know that Dustin Johnson has kept his ranking at #1 in the world for over 120 weeks, third all time behind Tiger and Greg Norman. He's coming into Augusta looking to repeat his run at the green jacket in 2020, and as probably the most cold-bloodedly consistent golfer in the field, the odds are high that he can repeat.
Between his laundry list of wins (24 PGA, 9 European) and placements and his highly public engagement and partnership with Paulina Gretzky, it's safe to say that Dustin Johnson is now the most recognized golfer in the world after Tiger Woods.
For his efforts, and for the ridiculously high payouts, Dustin Johnson is very well-compensated. His career earnings from the PGA Tour alone numbers around $70 million, which places him at fourth on the all-time money list behind Tiger Woods (duh), Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk.
With all of this publicity, it also stands to reason that Dustin Johnson also has a long line of endorsements, earning an estimated $11 million per year from them, according to Front Office Sports. His army of sponsors is headlined by a personal collection curated and designed by the German sports giant Adidas, which extends to his actual equipment.
TaylorMade is one of the largest and most popular golf brands on the PGA Tour, and as a subsidiary of Adidas, the makers of the sport's number one driver are a natural fit for Dustin Johnson and his smooth and powerful tee shots.
Interestingly enough, Dustin Johnson's endorsements seem to have only gained momentum over the past half-decade or so, despite the veteran having a bit of a knack for controversy.
The start of his career was as hot as hot could be, setting the PGA on fire with two wins in short notice his rookie year. Dustin Johnson made Masters history by being only the second player ever to eagle consecutive holes in 2009. He climbed as high as the 4th-ranked golfer (2nd ranked American behind Steve Stricker) in the world only two years later when he took the 2011 Barclays by storm.
Within a couple of years of that peak, however, it seemed the momentum had ground to a halt for Dustin Johnson.
After a rollercoaster in 2012 and 2013 (going from injuries to multiple wins in 2013), Dustin Johnson took a leave of absence from the 2014 PGA Tour for ‘personal reasons', and it was later revealed that this leave was coming off the heels of multiple failed drug tests. This was followed up by a string of wins that was marred by his controversial victory at the 2016 U.S. Open, in which Dustin Johnson was allowed to finish a putt that had apparently moved prior to his full swing.
However, as they say, ball don't lie. Dustin Johnson has been putting his money where his mouth is ever since, and has stacked win on win to become the number one golfer in the world, and the favorite heading into the 2021 Masters.
Notable for Dustin Johnson is his place on this year's PGA money list. He is currently being out-earned by relative youngsters Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau, which is understandable given their stature and momentum. DeChambeau in particular has made waves in mainstream context, famously gaining 40 pounds of pure muscle to become the longest driver on the PGA Tour in 2020. What can we say, headlines sell.
However, Johnson's third-place ranking on this year's list is significant for the amount of events it took him to climb that high. Of the top 50 earners on the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson (about $3.7 million) has taken the least amount of events to get there, with 8. No other player comes close to matching that level of volume and success, save for the second-place DeChambeau himself (9 events, about $5.4 million).
Now, Dustin Johnson is currently in the middle tiers of competition after Round 1 in Augusta (+2, T-31). But again. if history is to be any indication, he is still the odds-on favorite to take home the green jacket for a second-straight year, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since Tiger Woods at the turn of the millennium.
Dustin Johnson's net worth in 2021 is about $50 million. It is reported that the total purse for this year's Masters is the expected $11.5 million, resulting in a winning payout of $2.07 million, as is tradition. But if he is able to repeat this year, you can bet your bottom dollar that Johnson's net worth will skyrocket, if only for the history of such a feat. Because history is one hell of a headline.
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