LIV Golf officials are confident Dustin Johnson will stick around on the PIF-backed league despite his contract expiring this winter, according to a report.
Johnson was among the first wave of major champions that were recruited by the breakaway tour in June 2022, signing a deal understood to be worth north of $100m.
The laid-back Johnson has tasted victory with LIV and was even their individual champion in the BETA-test season.
But the 41-year-old has been notably inconsistent in the major championships since his big-money move.
So much so, in fact, that he didn’t even appear to be in the conversation for the 2025 United States Ryder Cup team.
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Those close to Johnson have long suggested that there are widespread misconceptions about the golfer, insisting that he still retains aspirations to compete on golf’s biggest stages and add to his tally of two major championship victories.
When GolfMagic spoke his former coach before this year’s Masters, the legendary Butch Harmon, the instructor wasn’t so sure if this was the case.
It is understood Johnson’s contract with LIV expires this winter, meaning that there is a chance we won’t see him in 4 Aces attire next season.
Johnson resigned his PGA Tour membership when he joined LIV and it is understood that he would have to serve a period of a one-year suspension before he would even be allowed to re-join.
Multiple PGA Tour winner Hudson Swafford, also a LIV defector, previously stated he was given a five-year ban and won’t be eligible to return until 2027 at the very earliest.
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MailSport reported over the weekend that Johnson’s team met with LIV officials in New York last week.
LIV are keeping mum on the subject but, according to the paper, there is confidence Johnson will stick around.
Which LIV Golf players’ contracts are expiring?
Several LIV Golf players’ contracts are expiring at the end of 2026.
The futures of major champions Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau remain unclear.
DeChambeau’s popularity off the course has soared since he joined LIV and it seems highly unlikely LIV won’t meet his demands.
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The 2024 US Open champ said before the Ryder Cup he was confident the deal would be sorted with minimal fuss.
“We’re looking to negotiate [at the] end of this year, and I’m very excited,” DeChambeau said.
“They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we’ll come to some sort of resolution on that. Super excited for the future.”
There has also been plenty of speculation about Koepka’s future.
Former Masters champion Fred Couples told an American radio station earlier in the year that he believed Koepka wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour.
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Koepka, who had a dismal year on the course by his standards, responded by saying that “everyone seems to to know [about the situation] than I do”.
“I don’t know where I’m going,” he added. “So I don’t know how everybody else does.”
Have LIV Golf signed any new players for the 2026 season?
Not yet.
Six full-time LIV players were relegated this year.
Replacements are needed for Henrik Stenson, Anthony Kim, Andy Ogletree, Mito Pereira, Yubin Jang and Frederik Kjettrup.
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Who could LIV Golf target?
As ever, there has been plenty of noise over names previously mentioned.
Former World No.1 Jason Day confirmed his agent was in talks with LIV but was told he was too injury-prone.
Golf Digest have reported LIV are currently in talks with two PGA Tour winners.
There is speculation that those players could be Tom Kim or Tony Finau.
Former US Open champion Wyndham Clark is another name that has been mentioned.
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Last week, Min Woo Lee’s agent also denied there was any truth to suggestions the Australian would be leaving the PGA Tour anytime soon.
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