THAILAND--Dustin Johnson has clinched the first LIV Golf individual championship and the $18 million first prize with one event remaining.
Johnson had five top-10 finishes in the first six events, including a win at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston. Having earned 121 points through the upstart tour's point system -- 42 more than second-place Branden Grace -- he cannot be caught.
"Locking up the individual competition is big. It's an honor to be LIV's first individual season champion," Johnson, 38, said in a news release.
LIV Golf commissioner and CEO Greg Norman congratulated him.
"The first chapter of LIV Golf's history could not be written without Dustin Johnson's name. By any measure, DJ is among the elite players in the world," Norman said. "From the start, he's been a LIV Golf cornerstone. He has more than lived up to his billing and he deserves immense credit for clinching LIV's first individual season title."
Several players remain in contention for the runner-up and third-place prizes of $8 million and $4 million, respectively. The places will be determined after the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah, set for this weekend at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia.
Patrick Reed trails Grace (79 points) with 76, followed by Cameron Smith (56). More than a dozen players are still in contention should they win in Jeddah, which carries 40 points for first place and 30 for second.
LIV Golf will conclude its inaugural season Oct. 28-30 with a team event at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami. Twelve teams will compete for a $50 million purse.
