Dustin Johnson Arrived for Third Round of U.S. Open Alongside Wayne Gretzky

The 2016 U.S. Open champion was in the presence of hockey royalty ahead of the third round of the tournament.

It’s not every day that a professional golfer is in the presence of hockey royalty during a major championship.

But that was the case for Dustin Johnson on Saturday as he walked into the Los Angeles Country Club with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky ahead of the third round of the U.S. Open. 

Luckily for Johnson, who is married to Gretzky’s daughter Paulina, walking alongside “The Great One" didn’t leave him starstruck before he hit the golf course.

Johnson is in pursuit of his second U.S. Open title this weekend at LACC. The 2016 U.S. Open champion will seek to produce a strong performance in the third round after scrambling to finish with an even-par 70 in the second round. 

The lowlight of Johnson’s Friday came when he shot an eight on a par-4 2nd hole, sending him spiraling down the leaderboard.

Welcome back to LACC, gentlemen. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/fby0l8Lljo

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 17, 2023

Despite the daunting start, Johnson managed to finish 4 under par for the remainder of his second round to end the day at 6 under overall. The 38-year-old’s up-and-down performance on Friday came a day after he registered an excellent start in Thursday’s opening round, shooting a 64 and trailing Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele by just two shots.

If Johnson manages to win his second U.S. Open title this weekend, the LIV golfer would make tournament history. Per Elias Sports Bureau, no golfer has ever made a quadruple bogey and come back to win the tournament in the last three decades.

The only golfer that has come close to overcoming an obstacle of that magnitude is Tiger Woods when he came back from a triple bogey at the 2000 U.S. Open to win the tournament by 15 strokes.