Report: LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson SPLITS with adidas Golf after 15 years
Dustin Johnson has parted ways with adidas Golf, bringing to an end a 15-year association with the brand on the eve of the second LIV Golf League season.
Dustin Johnson has parted ways with adidas Golf on the eve of the second LIV Golf League season.
This news was first reported by ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
It brings to an end a 15-year association with the brand for Johnson, 38, who joined the breakaway tour last June.
The report states the split was 'amicable' and originated from Johnson wanting to focus on his 4 Aces GC side.
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Johnson is the team captain of the LIV Golf team and also owns a 25 per cent equity stake in it.
Going forward, part of the success of LIV hinges on the team element.
The primary asset of that is the team jersey that Johnson and team-mates Pat Perez, Patrick Reed and Peter Uihlein will wear.
According to a source in the report, Johnson wanted 'the entire' shirt free for sponsors.
adidas Golf president Jeff Lienhart told ESPN:
It is also reported that Sergio Garcia has also ended his association with adidas Golf.
The report states that adidas Golf chose not to renew the Spaniard's deal.
Garcia also appears to have ended his association with OEM TaylorMade.
In recent weeks the 2017 Masters champion has been wearing apparel promoting his golf academy.
Per the ESPN report, Johnson's relationship with TaylorMade remains unchanged.
Johnson will continue wearing adidas shoes, although he won't be paid.
This is not the first major sponsor that Johnson has parted ways with.
When he resigned his PGA Tour membership, he was dropped by Royal Bank of Canada.
Johnson was the highest-ranked player in the world when he joined the tour commissioned by Greg Norman.
It is thought he commanded a fee in the region of $125m to join. Johnson won $35,637,767 in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series.
The next season kicks off later this week in Mexico.
