Dustin Johnson Claims LIV Golf's $18M Prize as Season-Long Individual Title Winner

Dustin Johnson enjoyed quite the payday for his first season as part of the LIV Golf Series.

According to Alex Myers of Golf Digest, Johnson captured the season-long individual title by finishing in the top 10 five times and winning once during his six tournament appearances in less than four months.

For that title, he is taking home an $18 million prize.

The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) noted Johnson has already made more $30 million this year with more than $12.7 million coming from events and the $18 million bonus for his title.

"From the start, he's been a LIV Golf cornerstone," LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said of Johnson, per Adam Woodard of Yahoo Sports. "He has more than lived up to his billing and he deserves immense credit for clinching LIV's first individual season title. We look forward to a celebration befitting such a champion in Miami at the end of October."

Johnson clinched the spot before the regular season even ended, as LIV will wrap up its individual competitions in Jeddah.

He is 42 points ahead of Branden Grace, who is in second place, and the winner in the upcoming tournament will collect 40 points.

The LIV Golf Team Championship will take place in Miami from Oct. 28-30, and teams will compete for $50 million.

Johnson was arguably the biggest name to join LIV from the PGA Tour considering Phil Mickelson is past his prime at this stage. The 38-year-old is a two-time major champion, most recently winning the 2020 Masters.

He also won the 2016 U.S. Open and helped the United States win the Ryder Cup in 2021 in dominant fashion.

Johnson was among the number of golfers who faced criticism for leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV considering the upstart golf league is financially backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The nation has been accused of using its wealth to engage in sportswashing—using sports teams, leagues and events to distract from a country's misdeeds, including human rights abuses, and improve its reputation globally.

RBC even dropped its sponsorship deal with him.

Yet he remained one of the public faces of LIV and played better on an individual level than any of his fellow competitors.