For nearly two decades, Dustin Johnson‘s presence at The Open Championship felt almost inevitable. That certainty has come to an abrupt halt, as reported on Monday.

Dustin Johnson will not play The Open this year. It’s the first time he’s missed the tournament since 2008, ending a run of appearances that goes back to 2009. He had been entered into Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links in Scotland, set to take place this Tuesday, but his name quietly disappeared from the tee sheet over the weekend.

Bob Harig was first to report it: “Dustin Johnson was said to be on the fence about Final Qualifying for the Open and has apparently decided not to go. His name is no longer on the draw sheet for Dundonald in Scotland.”

So why pull out of a major he’s played for almost two decades?

Harig later spoke to Johnson’s agent and got a simple, practical answer: “I saw his agent at the U.S. Open and it was simply the logistics. You go there for 36 holes. Then what? Go home for two weeks to return. LIV not playing over there doesn’t help.”

Now, LIV Golf is currently on a 47-day hiatus before its next scheduled event due to a previously scheduled event in New Orleans already being canceled, and won’t play again until its UK event in late July, after the Open has already finished. So, qualifying meant flying to Scotland, playing one day of golf, and then having nowhere to be for two weeks before the actual tournament started.

In a normal year, a LIV stop in Europe around that time would have made the trip worth it — fly over once, play qualifying, stick around for a LIV event, then play the Open if he made it through. This year, that bridge doesn’t exist.

Moreover, after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced in April that it would cease funding LIV Golf following the 2026 season, concerning reports have been emerging. According to David Rumsey in Front Office Sports, the final four LIV Golf tournaments of the year stand at the risk of being canceled as the league’s funding “could dry up even earlier than expected.”

“Every remaining tournament is on the fence,” an executive at a LIV partner told FOS, adding, “LIV Golf doesn’t know if or when the PIF will shut off the spigot.”

It also matters that Johnson didn’t have a guaranteed spot to begin with. His major exemptions have been drying up since he left the PGA Tour to join LIV in 2022.

His five-year Masters exemption from his 2020 win has expired, and his ranking has fallen sharply because LIV events don’t carry world ranking points. This season alone, he’s managed just one top-20 finish in his last 15 major starts, going tied-33rd at the Masters, tied-44th at the PGA Championship, and tied-32nd at the U.S. Open. 

Johnson wasn’t the only one to vanish from the qualifying field this weekend. Carlos Ortiz and David Puig also withdrew from their respective venues.