Course at SentryWorld in Wisconsin to remain closed all year as opening of resort’s inn is delayed

HOUSTON - "My health is good. The state of my game is undetermined." Those were Dustin Johnson's opening words in his pre-tournament press conference at this week's Vivint Houston Open, his first start since testing positive for COVID-19. Johnson tested positive for the virus before the CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. He also withdrew from the following week's ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, missing an opportunity to play a course that he knows well and where he holds the course record. Johnson's bout with coronavirus was mild, he said. "I felt like I had a cold for a few days, ... so I was pretty much asymptomatic," Johnson said Wednesday. "A little fatigue and things like that, but I couldn’t really figure out if that was because I was stuck in a hotel room for like 11 days not doing anything or it was COVID that made me feel that way." Johnson, the reigning FedExCup champion, last competed at the U.S. Open, where he finished sixth. It was his fifth consecutive finish of sixth or better, a stretch that included his dominant win at THE NORTHERN TRUST, victory in the TOUR Championship and runners-up at the PGA Championship and BMW Championship. He compared this recent run to his stretch in 2017 when he won three consecutive starts leading into the Masters. Johnson was unable to compete at Augusta National, however, after injuring himself in a fall at his rental house. This year, his pre-Masters prep was interrupted by his positive COVID test. "The most movement I made was to the shower and then I had a little outside area, so I would go sit outside for a little bit. That was it," Johnson said about his time in isolation. He binge-watched television shows, declaring "Yellowstone" as his favorite. He started hitting balls last Monday but had to cut the session short because of fatigue. "It was ... just over two weeks before I started practicing again. But then obviously not playing or doing anything for two weeks, the first day I didn’t hit balls for very long because I got kind of tired," Johnson said. "Then (I) practiced a little bit more each day. It's been going pretty well so far." Now we'll see if Johnson can pick up where he left off.

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Here’s how the field qualified for The Genesis Invitational as of 2/12/2021. Check here for updates. Former Winners of The Genesis Invitational J.B. Holmes Dustin Johnson Adam Scott Bubba Watson Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship (2016-2019) Si Woo Kim Rory McIlroy Winner – The U.S. Open (Last 5 Years) Bryson DeChambeau Brooks Koepka Gary Woodland Winner – The PGA Championship (Last 5 Years) Collin Morikawa Justin Thomas Jimmy Walker Winner – The Masters (Last 5 Years) Sergio Garcia Winner – The Open Championship (2016-2019) Francesco Molinari Jordan Spieth Winner – WGC-HSBC Champions (2018, 2019) Xander Schauffele Winner the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Patrick Cantlay Jon Rahm Winner – Tournament Winner in the Past Year Daniel Berger Stewart Cink Brian Gay Jim Herman Viktor Hovland Jason Kokrak Martin Laird Kevin Na Carlos Ortiz Robert Streb Michael Thompson Richy Werenski Winner – Prior Year U.S. Amateur Championship Tyler Strafaci Member of Last Named U.S.Presidents Cup Team Tony Finau Rickie Fowler Matt Kuchar Member of Last Named International Presidents Cup Team Abraham Ancer Adam Hadwin Joaquin Niemann Cheng Tsung Pan Cameron Smith Top 125 who earned the most FedExCup points: 2019-20 Greenbrier -’21 WM Phoenix Open Hideki Matsuyama Brendon Todd Lanto Griffin Sebastián Muñoz Matthew Wolff Adam Long Scottie Scheffler Marc Leishman Cameron Champ Mackenzie Hughes Corey Conners Tom Hoge Joel Dahmen Brian Harman J.T. Poston Harry Higgs Russell Henley Brendan Steele Tyler Duncan Talor Gooch Henrik Norlander Nick Taylor Mark Hubbard Dylan Frittelli Andrew Landry Peter Malnati Matthew Fitzpatrick Doc Redman Cameron Tringale Sepp Straka Cameron Davis Wyndham Clark Maverick McNealy Denny McCarthy Matt Jones Max Homa Danny Lee Alex Noren Emiliano Grillo Charles Howell III Kyoung-Hoon Lee Matthew NeSmith Harold Varner III Sam Burns Charley Hoffman Nate Lashley Robby Shelton Brian Stuard Xinjun Zhang Chez Reavie Keegan Bradley Sung Kang Patrick Rodgers Pat Perez Tyler McCumber Russell Knox Ryan Armour Troy Merritt Vaughn Taylor James Hahn Lucas Glover Luke List Scott Piercy Austin Cook Bo Hoag Kyle Stanley Brandt Snedeker Scott Harrington Top 125 (medical) Charl Schwartzel Sponsors Exemptions -2018-19 FedExCup / 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Category Branden Grace Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Wesley Bryan Jim Furyk Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted John Augenstein Padraig Harrington Tae Hoon Kim Willie Mack III Andy Ogletree Camilo Villegas Will Zalatoris

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Daniel Berger used to think he didn’t really love golf… he just happened to be really good at it. But the two-time PGA TOUR winner has upgraded his love of the game over the last 18 months after a persistent injury took him away from the little white-dimpled ball he took for granted. Berger falls into the classic category of “You don’t know how much you love something till it’s gone.� Coming off a sixth-place finish at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where he was part of the 54-hole lead, Berger was hitting a shot at the Travelers Championship when he felt some discomfort in the index finger on his right hand. It lingered. Berger battled through the pain and suited up for six more events that season and even forged top-15 finishes in the PGA Championship and THE NORTHERN TRUST. But the discomfort was stopping him doing his usual preparations and forced him to pull out of the BMW Championship before it began, ending his FedExCup run. The pain was now giving him issues down to the wrist. Inflammation meant only one thing could be done. Rest. RELATED:  What you need to know for The American Express | Power Rankings “I just couldn’t practice. I’d get to a golf tournament and hit just 50 golf balls the whole week and I just didn’t feel like I could do the preparation to where I would feel ready to go,� Berger explained. “At home I couldn’t go hit 500 balls if I wanted to. I never was able to do the things that in the past I was able to do.� Initially, a rest didn’t sound so bad to a young man who had been around elite athletes his whole life and had been working his tail off to become one himself since before he can remember. Berger’s father Jay played top-level tennis, winning three ATP singles titles and getting as high as seventh in the world. He played in the Davis Cup for the United States and then moved to coaching, working with the U.S. Davis Cup and Olympic tennis teams and also was a director of tennis for the USTA. Amongst this environment, young Daniel Berger thrived. “I knew since I was a young boy I would be a professional athlete. I just didn’t know what sport yet,� Berger said. His father, and Berger himself, are believers in the 10,000-hour rule. That being you need to get to 10,000 hours of dedicated practice in something to master it. So Berger’s life has been about putting in the work, and then doing more. So the idea of a break was something of a novelty. Maybe he could enjoy some down time and a more “normal� life for a while. The 2015 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year was excited about getting in the water on his boat and doing other recreational activities that wouldn’t hamper his injury. And he did have fun … until he started to miss his previous way of life. “In the beginning I thought it was amazing. I got to do other things,� Berger said. “But the reality is my whole life all I’ve ever known is hit balls, go to a golf tournament, compete … and suddenly you are unable to do those things you are so passionate about and it sucks. “I have always been a firm believer of the harder you work the better you perform and prior to that I had never had a time in my career where I wasn’t able to do the things I felt like I needed to do. That was the most frustrating part. You know what you need to accomplish but physically you are unable to do that and it just eats you up.� The frustration and annoyance got the better of the 26-year-old. And he came back to competition in 2019 despite things not being 100%. A runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open in late February gave him a bit of false confidence that he could battle through things a little. But the entire season he couldn’t quite trust things and his practice time remained well down on his usual standards. He fell to 131st in the FedExCup without a top-10 after Puerto Rico and missed the FedExCup Playoffs. Now though, Berger says he is 100%. The last few months he has returned his practice to the hours he is accustomed to. And in his five starts this season Berger has three top-25 finishes to be currently 79th in the FedExCup. The results might not yet show significant improvement, but Berger knows his ball-striking is returning toward its best. At the Sony Open last week, he was 10th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 11th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. And he had his first positive mark of the season in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. “I have put a lot of work in that I wasn’t able to do before. And that has already been the big difference in the five events I have played this season. I just need to continue to put the work in,� he said prior to The American Express this week in California. “It’s been a blessing to come back and do what I love. I used to always say I never really liked golf; I was just good at it. But when you take some time off, I realized I really like golf a lot. My main goal now is to put myself in contention to win. It is tough out here, so you’ve got to continue to get better. I feel like this offseason I did a lot of good things and I am hitting the ball way better than I have in a long time.� Berger is trying to get those feelings from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons where he was Rookie of the Year and won back-to-back FedEx St. Jude Classics. He’s even reverted to the old TaylorMade irons he used coming through the ranks and says it helps him “just feel more like me.� As one of the famed Class of 2011, Berger has also drawn motivation from what Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth have already achieved in the game, knowing he’s always been able to compete on their level. It makes the idea of winning a FedExCup and major championships even more attainable. And watching the recent Presidents Cup on television – two years after he secured the clinching point for the U.S. Team at Liberty National – also put a fire in his belly. “I watched every single shot … and I never watch golf. But I love team sports and I love rooting for anything that’s American,� Berger said. “It is disappointing not to be there but obviously I didn’t deserve to be. To see those guys go out there and play the way they did was impressive and it is certainly motivating. “There are a lot of young guys making a name for themselves and I think you will see 10 or 15 guys playing on the teams for the next 10 or 15 years just like you saw with the Phil’s and Tiger’s. I want to be part of that.� Now that he’s back fit and healthy, there’s a good chance he will be.

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