Dustin Johnson Just Lost a Sponsor Over His Mega $150 Million LIV Deal

News coming out late Tuesday night shocked the golf world as Dustin Johnson, No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking, was announced as part of the field for LIV Golf Investments’ first tournament next week in England.

One day after the news that could spell the end of the 2020 Masters champion’s PGA Tour career, The Telegraph reported that Johnson was paid around $125 million to join the upstart series.

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But while Johnson received a nine-figure payday–on top of any winnings he may earn in hugely lucrative events on the eight-event LIV tour this year–he won’t be getting any more deposits into his account from the Royal Bank of Canada, as RBC has terminated its sponsorship deal not only with Johnson but also with Graeme McDowell, who also is participating in the LIV opener next week.

Official word from RBC:
"As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players. We wish them well in their future endeavours."

— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) June 1, 2022

The next domino to fall will be to see how the PGA Tour responds. Last month, it denied players’ requests to skip the PGA Tour’s event in Canada next week in favor of playing on the LIV tour.

Rory McIlroy commented on the defection of Johnson and others on Wednesday in Ohio, a day before he tees it up at the Memorial Tournament.

“I certainly don’t think the field is anything to jump up and down about,” McIlroy said of the LIV event. “Look at the field [here] this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments.”

In addition to Johnson and McDowell, other golfers defying the PGA Tour’s order include Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Talor Gooch.

Cover Image via Twitter