Dustin Johnson resigns from PGA Tour as he gets ready to tee it up at LIV Series opener in London

The PGA Tour is in Toronto this week for the Canadian Open, but 2018 champion Dustin Johnson won’t be in the field for the Canadian Open or any other PGA Tour event.

The former world No. 1 is in London to play in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitation and announced to reporters he has resigned from the PGA Tour.

“At this time it’s hard to speak on what the consequences will be, but for right now I resigned my membership from the PGA Tour,” Johnson said Tuesday at a press conference. “I’m going to play here, you know, for now. That’s the plan. What the consequences will be, obviously I can’t comment on how the Tour’s going to handle.”

Also in the field in London is six-time major champion Phil Mickelson who has been absent from the game since February. Rumors had been circulating Mickelson would join the LIV Series but his name was left off the initial field list of 42 players last week.

Johnson, the 2020 Masters champion, is eligible to compete in all the majors through 2025, as the majors are not run by the PGA Tour. The governing bodies of the four major championships have yet to announce if they will ban players who compete in the rival LIV Series, but Johnson plans to play at the U.S. Open later this month and beyond.

“I can’t answer for the majors, but hopefully they’re going to allow us to play. Obviously, I’m exempt for the majors, so I plan on playing there, unless I hear otherwise.”

A winner of 24 PGA Tour events, Johnson was the biggest name to commit to the LIV Series when he announced his intentions last week. At the time he was still a member of the PGA Tour.

Earlier this week, Kevin Na, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour announced he also has resigned from the PGA Tour calling it “a very difficult decision for me” but stressed he wanted the freedom to choose when and where to play without facing any potential legal consequences from the PGA Tour.

Johnson and Mickelson won’t be the only high profile names teeing it up at Centurion Club outside London. They’ll be joined by fellow major champions Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuzien, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.

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