Dustin Johnson takes leave of absence from competitive golf to get a grip on cocaine abuse!
If Dustin Johnson is pulling in these types of golf numbers “jacked to the nines” on cocaine, imagine what he would be doing without the constant headache and distraction that cocaine brings along.
Dustin Johnson announced Thursday that he will take a leave of absence from professional golf to seek professional help for “personal challenges.” The eight-time PGA Tour winner, who also withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Monday citing personal reasons, said in the statement that he will commit “the time and resources necessary to improve my mental health, physical well-being and emotional foundation.” Johnson, 30, is the one of America’s most talented young golfers, finishing T4 at this year’s U.S. Open and 12th at The Open Championship two weeks ago.
He will not participate in this year’s PGA Championship, however, and he will not play in the Ryder Cup if he were to qualify. Johnson is currently ranked No. 5 in the Ryder Cup points list, and if he remains in the top-9 after this week’s tournament, his spot in the event will be given to the No. 10-ranked player on the list. As it stands, Patrick Reed would currently earn the last spot on the U.S.’s 2014 Ryder Cup squad.
This is the second time in his career that Johnson will miss a major championship due to uncertainty about his health. He took an 11-week hiatus from professional two years ago that caused him to miss the 2012 Masters, citing a back injury that occurred while he was lifting a jet ski. It was rumored that Johnson had failed a PGA Tour-administered drug test and that he was in drug rehabilitation, but those rumors were denied by his agent, David Winkle.
Johnson’s statement included no time table for a return to the game. “I respectfully ask my fans, well-wishers and the media for privacy as I embark upon this mission of self-improvement,” he said. Johnson made headlines earlier this year when he became engaged to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of NHL Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky, and the two have been a steady presence in golf news ever since.
