Dustin Johnson says he has issues but cocaine is not one of them
Dustin Johnson sort of says he had a drinking problem but doesn't cop to much else in a recent interview. He does sound pretty excited to return to golf.
By
Kyle Porter
•
1 min read
In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated this week, Dustin Johnson admitted to some issues -- drinking too much being the primary one -- but noted that use of cocaine was not among them.
Johnson sat down with SI to discuss his rejuvenated private life and a golf game he's itching to show off. He also talked about the cocaine report Sports Illustrated put out there at the end of 2014.
"I did not have a problem. It’s just something I’m not going to get into. I have issues. But that’s not the issue," he said.
Johnson did, however, talk a lot about drinking too much.
"My way of getting rid of (stress) was drinking or partying," Johnson said. "Yeah, that might work for that day or the next week, but eventually everything keeps piling up."
"The mentality of being invincible is great when I’m playing golf," he said. "But where I was struggling was when I wasn’t playing golf."
I'm not sure if drinking was the only "issue" referenced by Johnson that kept him away from the game -- he never really says what they were -- but I have to think it was at least part of a set of them.
Scribe Pete Thamel continues with this interesting tidbit about a bet Johnson has with his future father-in-law, Wayne Gretzky.
He says he has gone months without vodka -- his vice was Grey Goose and soda with a lime. He even ponied up $1,000 for a competition with Wayne and eight other Sherwood members to see who could go through January without drinking. So far, so good. "I don’t miss waking up with a hangover, and I didn’t drink very often," Johnson says. "It was just when I did it was a little too much."
Whatever happened -- and anything from me would be pure speculation -- I'm glad Johnson is returning to golf soon (the article notes either Pebble Beach or Torrey Pines in February).
The sport is better with him, and he's probably better off with the sport.
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