Dustin Johnson showed that he’s still got it at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after an opening round of 64 at Carnoustie and feels he still has lots to offer Team USA if he can rediscover his best form ahead of the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor.
Johnson has missed the last two Ryder Cups after a downturn in form since joining LIV Golf but it cannot be forgotten that he won five points from five matches in the 2021 edition as his experience helped Steve Stricker’s young whippersnappers trounce Europe 19-9 at Whistling Straits.
Johnson, a former world number one and a two-time major champion boasts a 12-9-0 record in the Ryder Cup and there is no doubt that he and fellow LIV renegades Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka were missed last week in Bethpage Black due to form and an inability to earn Ryder Cup points via the Saudi backed tour.
“I’d love to,” said Johnson about a Ryder Cup return. “I wanted to be there (Bethpage). I just need to play a bit better and I can be there for Adare.
“I finally feel like I have my game coming back into form. I’ve got a lot more confidence in it and I am starting to swing it well again.
“I went through about a year where I just wasn’t swinging at it very well. But I feel I am now starting to hit a lot of nice shots and feel a lot more consistent. The last few months have been nice.”
Johnson will be looking to sustain his challenge over the weekend in Scotland and improve on his lowly world ranking of 628 with the 41-year-old keen on adding to his five Ryder Cup appearances since his debut in 2010.
“Very pleased,” he said of his day one showing on Thursday. “We went out early. Not much wind. We got the first eight or nine holes, nice weather.
“Yeah, hit a lot of really nice shots. Holed a couple putts but yeah, played pretty solid. Kept it out of the bunkers, and yeah, it was a nice round.”
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