20 Things You Didn’t Know About Dustin Johnson
Get to know former World No.1 and two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson a little better...


Header Cell - Column 0 | Header Cell - Column 1 |
---|---|
Full name | Dustin Hunter Johnson |
Date of birth | June 22 1984 |
Born | Columbia, South Carolina |
Nickname | DJ |
Height | 6ft,4in |
Resides | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida |
Spouse | Paulina Gretzky |
College | Coastal Carolina University |
Turned pro | 2007 |
PGA Tour wins | 24 |
Major wins | 2 (2016 US Open, 2020 Masters) |
Career high world ranking | 1st |
Current tour(s) | LIV Golf |
Caddie | Austin Johnson |
Sponsors | Adidas, TaylorMade, Hublot, Netjets Bodyarmor, Perfect Practice |
@DJohnsonPGA | |
@dustinjohnsongolf |
Dustin Johnson is one of the most successful golfers of his generation thanks to multiple victories around the world including two Major titles at the 2016 US Open and 2020 Masters.
Johnson is one of the biggest names in the sport and sent shockwaves through the game in 2022 after becoming the most high profile player to join LIV Golf before the Saudi-backed series' inaugural event in London. Since then, DJ has been suspended by the PGA Tour and now plays all of his golf away from the tour upon which he has 24 victories.
Here we take a look at 20 things you may not know about the American...
1. Hunter is his middle name.
2. After Tiger Woods and Greg Norman, he has held the World No.1 position for the third-longest spell in history with 135 weeks.
3. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina - just across the State border from August - and now lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
4. He won a PGA Tour event in each of his first 13 seasons. Jack Nicklaus has the record at 17.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
5. He is married to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of Canadian Ice Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. The pair wedded on April 23rd in Tennessee.
6. He and Paulina have two children, Tatum Gretzky Johnson and River Jones Johnson.
7. He has his own foundation, which was launched in 2010. It helps youngsters, mainly with youth and college golf programmes.
8. He started the Dustin Johnson Golf School at TPC Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
9. He enjoys basketball. His younger brother Austin used to play for the Charleston Southern University team.
10. His brother Austin has been his caddie since late 2013 - with the pair winning two Majors together.
11. He and Brooks Koepka formely trained together in the gym with coach Joey Diovisalvi in Jupiter, Florida.
12. His home course is The Floridian in Jupiter, Florida. Other tour pros who play at The Floridian include Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Mel Reid. It's also home to the Butch Harmon Learning Center, where Butch's son Claude teaches.
13. Dustin and Paulina have two dogs, a goldendoodle named Daisy and labradoodle called Charlie.
14. His dad is a former club pro and took him to the range for the first time aged six.
15. Despite having a pro as a dad, DJ is largely self-taught and learnt to play from watching other golfers on the driving range.
16. He loves suits - he once told Golf Digest that he owns 30 Prada and Dolce and Gabbana suits.
17. He has made just shy of $75m in official PGA Tour career earnings, which would put him third on the list behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Both he and Mickelson have been removed from the list, however, after joining LIV Golf.
18. Dustin was LIV Golf's highest profile signing before the inaugural London event in June 2022 and became captain of the 4 Aces team. He reportedly signed for a fee north of $125m and was immediately suspended by the PGA Tour.
19. He won the LIV Golf individual title in the inaugural season, picking up an $18m bonus. His team also won the Team Championship for $4m each, and he won over $35m in the first year of LIV in total.
20. He has made 13 holes-in-one

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, X and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
-
Hye-Jin Choi Facts: 10 Things To Know About The LPGA Tour Pro
Hye-Jin Choi had a glittering amateur career, and she’s taken that into her professional journey, with a host of wins – here are 10 things to know about her
By Mike Hall
-
Yan Liu Facts: 10 Things To Know About The LPGA Tour Pro
Yan Liu has been making solid progress in her professional career – here are 10 things to know about the LPGA Tour golfer
By Mike Hall
-
Hye-Jin Choi Facts: 10 Things To Know About The LPGA Tour Pro
Hye-Jin Choi had a glittering amateur career, and she’s taken that into her professional journey, with a host of wins – here are 10 things to know about her
By Mike Hall
-
Yan Liu Facts: 10 Things To Know About The LPGA Tour Pro
Yan Liu has been making solid progress in her professional career – here are 10 things to know about the LPGA Tour golfer
By Mike Hall
-
Mao Saigo Facts: 14 Things You Didn't Know About The Japanese Golfer
Discover more about Japanese pro golfer, Mao Saigo via these facts regarding her life and journey through the game so far...
By Jonny Leighfield
-
Marco Penge Facts: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The English Golfer
Discover more about English DP World Tour winner, Marco Penge via these facts regarding his life and career so far...
By Jonny Leighfield
-
Lindy Duncan Facts: 11 Things You Didn't Know About The LPGA Tour Pro
Get to know American professional golfer, Lindy Duncan, with these facts about her life and career in the game so far...
By Matt Cradock
-
Carla Bernat Escuder Facts: 10 Things To Know About The College Golfer
The Spaniard is making a big impression in her college career – here are 10 things to know about her
By Mike Hall
-
Brandon Stone Facts: 10 Things To Know About The DP World Tour Pro
The South African golfer enjoyed a successful amateur career before turning pro – here are 10 things to know about the DP World Tour star
By Mike Hall
-
Jeremy Paul Facts: 12 Things To Know About The PGA Tour Golfer
Get to know the life and career of PGA Tour golfer Jeremy Paul a little better...
By Elliott Heath