World No.1 Johnson to miss second event after testing positive

FILE PHOTO: Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the ninth tee during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Winged Foot Golf Club – West.  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Dustin Johnson, the top ranked player in the world, withdrew from this week’s ZoZo Championship, the second consecutive tournament he has missed after testing positive for COVID-19.

The tournament, which made its debut in Japan last year, was moved to the Los Angeles-area for 2020 at Sherwood Country Club as a concession to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiger Woods is the defending champion.

“While he is feeling much better, he is still a bit low on energy and feels it would be best to wait and resume his schedule in Houston,” Johnson’s agent David Winkle told Golfweek.

The PGA Tour’s next event is the Bermuda Championship from Oct. 29-Nov. 1 before moving on to the Vivint Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course from Nov. 5-8.

Johnson, 36, is just the third player in PGA Tour history to win a tournament in each of his first 13 seasons, joining Jack Nicklaus and Woods. He has spent 100 weeks as the No. 1 player in the world over various times during his career.

He moved back to No. 1 in the world in August with a victory at the Northern Trust to begin the 2020 FedEx Cup playoffs, then won the Tour Championship at Atlanta in September, taking the $15 million first prize.

The 2016 U.S. Open winner finished tied for second at the 2020 PGA Championship held Aug. 6-9 at San Francisco.