Dustin Johnson has been seen wearing non-adidas golf shoes for the first time in his career following his split with the brand after 15 years.
Johnson was seen wearing the FootJoy Premiere Series Packard shoes in a practice round for this week's LIV Golf League event at Orange County National in Orlando, FL. The Packards are some of the best FootJoy golf shoes on the market and have also been worn by Tiger Woods over the last year.
The 4 Aces GC franchise posted a video clip of the team's four players hitting drives, where DJ was seen without his usual adidas footwear.
A source told ESPN last month that Johnson needed to get out of his adidas deal to try and secure a sponsor for his 4 Aces LIV Golf franchise.
"As good as the relationship with Adidas has been, it just didn't fit in his plans," the source said. "A major part of starting a team is establishing a brand identity and building that brand. The primary asset is the shirt. ... They want the entire shirt. DJ needed a clean break to start his team. He's grateful to Adidas for letting him out of the deal."
“Obviously I've been with Adidas, I was with them for 15 years. We had a great relationship. It's still really good. We mutually agreed on parting ways,” Johnson said ahead of the LIV Golf League opener in Mexico last month.
“It just wasn't working how it was, just with my new - obviously playing for LIV and the way things kind of go. It was better for both of us to part ways. For me being the captain of the team, obviously being able to go out and find a clothing sponsor is more beneficial than waiting another year."
Fellow LIV Golf player Sergio Garcia also split with adidas at the start of the year after more than 20 years with the brand.
Garcia also split with TaylorMade at the start of 2023, with Johnson still currently signed up with the equipment manufacturer. DJ didn't appear in TaylorMade's Christmas promo content, however, and doesn't feature in the main Team TaylorMade banner on the brand's website. He does still wear a TaylorMade cap, use a TaylorMade staff bag and a full bag of the company's products.
The 2020 Masters champion is one of a number of LIV players in the Masters field for next week's season-opening Major at Augusta National.
The two-time Major champion currently ranks 68th in the world, with LIV still not offering world ranking points. Despite the ranking slip, he won both the individual and team titles in LIV's debut season last year and picked up over $35m in prize money.
