After a disappointing start to his 2025 season, critics were quick to bash Dustin Johnson.

The two-time major champion opened the LIV Golf season with finishes of T44 at LIV Riyadh, T31 at LIV Adelaide and 54th (dead last) at LIV Hong Kong.

After a lackluster second half of 2024, murmurs began to circulate that Johnson’s days as a competitive golfer were just about over. Following his abysmal start to 2025, those hushed doubts erupted into a blaring uproar.

On Friday in Singapore, the 40-year-old let his game do the talking. Johnson shot an opening-round 8-under 63, three shots clear of Sebastian Munoz who opened with a 66.

Johnson also revealed that he was dealing with some stiffness last week which is the reason he struggled so badly in Hong Kong.

“Well, I couldn’t turn my head to the right, so it was more—it kind of just pulled when I was on the through swing, so I was hitting everything left. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” he said after his round at Sentosa Golf Club.

The harsh criticism from fans and media might have reached Johnson, but if it did, he kept it to himself. Johnson remained his signature cool, unflappable self, casually breaking down what led to his fantastic round.

“Just obviously had a really good practice week leading into the tournament. I was swinging it really well. I just kind of kept it going. Just hit a lot of really good golf shots and took advantage of the par 5s and then holed a couple—made a couple long putts, which obviously always helps. I mean, that was kind of the key was I rolled the putter really nice,” Johnson said.

For the round, Johnson ranked T5 for fairways hit, T1 in greens in regulation, T1 in scrambling and T8 in putting.

It will take more than one great round to silence his doubters, but if history is any indication, the winner of 24 PGA Tour events will find his stride again.

Johnson has remarkably notched a win in 17 consecutive seasons (including wraparound PGA Tour seasons) heading into 2025, including wins in the first three seasons of LIV Golf. When asked about the streak, Johnson expressed pride in his longevity.

“It’s really hard to win. Anytime you can get a win, no matter when it is, it’s always good,” he said. “Yeah, obviously winning every single year I’ve been on Tour, obviously I’m really proud of it, just as far as keeping my game at a high level for such a long period of time.”

Granted, it’s only one round, but the rumors of his downfall might have been a bit premature. As a future Hall of Famer, Johnson deserves the benefit of the doubt.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dustin Johnson Quiets Critics With Opening-Round 63 at LIV Golf Singapore.