Dustin Johnson confirmed Tuesday that he is leaving the PGA Tour to join the LIV Golf Series, a controversial new tour that will begin operations this week in London.
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Johnson had previously indicated he would play in the inaugural tournament at Centurion Golf Club beginning Thursday, confirming at a press conference that he had terminated his PGA membership.
This decision will prevent him from taking part in the Ryder Cup and could also deprive him of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
“Obviously right now it’s hard to talk about the consequences, but at the moment I’ve terminated my membership,” Johnson said. I’m going to play here for now and that’s the plan. What will the consequences be? I obviously can’t comment on how the circuit will handle [la situation].»
Johnson has won two majors and 24 total PGA titles.
The LIV Tour was recently founded by former Australian golfer Greg Norman and is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The purses are thus higher than in the PGA. Phil Mickelson also made the jump, as did Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace.