Dustin Johnson To Skip Olympic Games In Tokyo

The American is giving the Olympics a miss to focus on winning the FedEx Cup

Dustin Johnson To Skip Olympic Games In Tokyo

Dustin Johnson has become the first golfer to announce that they are skipping the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The former World No.1, who also skipped the 2016 Olympics in Rio, is opting to give the Games a miss to prioritise winning the FedEx Cup.

“Dustin gave the Olympics a great deal of thought and we discussed the pros and cons of him participating at length,” DJ's manager David Winkle told Golfweek via email.

“At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal preference and priority. As much as he would be honored to be an Olympian, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are also very important to him.

"Having had a few close calls in the Playoffs, he really wants to win them before his time is done and feels that he wouldn’t be giving himself the best opportunity to do so if he added a lengthy international trip just prior to their beginning (and shortly after returning from two weeks in Europe).”

Related: Paul Azinger criticised after 'condescending' European Tour comments

The FedEx Cup Playoffs begin two weeks after the Olympics, which takes place in Tokyo the week after the Open Championship.

The news gives a huge boost to Tiger Woods' hopes of competing at Kasumigaseki Golf Club, where the top four Americans will compete (due to the USA having more than two players in the World's top 15).

Woods has already stated his intentions to play for Team USA but has work to do to qualify as the seventh-highest American in the Official World Golf Ranking, albeit he is essentially bumped up to six in terms of Olympic qualification due to DJ's withdrawal.

It is set to be a strong field with Rory McIlroy also planning to play and represent Ireland.

Brooks Koepka's participation isn't as clear, however, after he recently said that the Majors and FedEx Cup were more important to him than the Olympics.

After DJ's withdrawal, don't be surprised if Koepka does the same.

Related: Koepka - Majors and FedEx Cup more important than Olympics

Let's hope this isn't the start of more high profile withdrawals, after the 2016 Games saw the likes of DJ, then-World No.1 Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace all pull out.

For all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels @golfmonthlymagazine on Facebook and @golfmonthly on Twitter and Instagram