Dustin Johnson is set to make his PGA Tour return next month after announcing July 31, 2014, that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with what he described as "personal challenges."
Several reports, most notably from golf.com, claimed Johnson's time away wasn't voluntary, but rather a six-month suspension for violating the PGA Tour's anti-doping program. The Tour denied that claim, with the whole thing likely more a matter of semantics than anything.
Beyond that, reports suggested Johnson had a problem with cocaine and, though tangential to Johnson's leave of absence, that he had an affair with a fellow PGA Tour player's wife.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, his first since leaving golf last summer, Johnson offers an update on his progress, return and journey to fatherhood with fiancee Paulina Gretzky. Johnson denies any issues with cocaine, but does admit to a vague set of broader problems, for which he hired a team to help him deal with in his time away from the PGA Tour.
“I did not have a problem (with cocaine),” Johnson says. “It’s just something I’m not going to get into. I have issues. But that’s not the issue.”
Instead, he says Grey Goose vodka and soda with a lime was his elixir of choice.
“My way of getting rid of it was drinking or partying,” Johnson says. “Yeah, that might work for that day or the next week, but eventually everything keeps piling up.”
Johnson tells SI he got rid of the enablers of his bad behavior, save for his fiancee, which has simplified and solidifed their relationship. He's also found a new set of hobbies to deal with the soon-to-come stress of trying to truly tap into his potential at 30. The Coastal Carolina product says he's ready for the challenge.
“I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface,” he says. “And that was a really big part of what I’ve been doing, to help myself reach that potential.”
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