Dustin Johnson speaks out after wife Paulina Gretzky absent from The Open

Dustin Johnson has disclosed that his wife, Paulina Gretzky, chose the sun-soaked luxury of Saint-Tropez over watching him compete at The Open, as he vies for his third major title. While Paulina is soaking up the rays, Johnson's brother is ensuring the family support is felt at Royal Troon in his role as caddie.

With a significant eight-shot deficit to overturn this weekend, Johnson has his sights firmly set on leader Shane Lowry, hoping that challenging weather conditions might swing the momentum in his favour, despite his wife's absence.

Johnson, when asked about Paulina's decision to skip the event, told the press: "No, my wife and a couple of friends are in Saint-Tropez. I'll meet her on Sunday. I don't blame her! ".

He further elaborated on the potential impact of the weather, saying, "It just depends on the weather really. Tough conditions, you don't need to be -- you can be pretty far behind as long as you play well,".

Reflecting on his Friday performance which echoed his time as the former world No. 1, Johnson noted a significant improvement from his opening round.

"I feel like I'm swinging the irons good, rolling (putts) good," he said. "I gave myself a lot of chances ... missed a couple of short ones, but I rolled the putter really nice. The short game ... everything feels really good. (I) just need to get in the fairway a little bit more (but) I drove it a little better today."

Despite not quite hitting par, Johnson remained optimistic about his standing: "Obviously I would've liked to get one more (birdie) in there and get it back to even (par), but still as I sit now, it's not too bad, probably not going to be too far off (the leader)."

Despite a recent rough patch, including missing the cut at the US Open and two majors in 2024, Johnson remains optimistic. The star golfer attributed some of his struggles to health issues, explaining: "I don't know if I had the flu or whatever. Trying to play that golf course, in the heat with not feeling good, was not fun,".

Johnson expressed the timeless frustration every golfer knows all too well: "It's been like that for the longest I can remember in my career, really: playing good golf, just not shooting good scores. But (that's) golf; it's frustrating.

"It's always going to be that way ... but it can turn around really quick. I feel like I'm doing all the right things, and some good scores are to come for sure."