Dustin Johnson is ranked in the top 10 in the world. (Getty)
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Dustin Johnson is in the top 10 of the world golf rankings and longest driver on the PGA Tour.
Things have not always been so rosy, though.
Dustin’s parents divorced when he was a teenager and things didn’t go very smoothly for him afterwards.
But he has been able to regroup, and he’s put himself in a position to win the 115th U.S. Open.
Here’s what you need to know about Dustin Johnson’s parents:
1. The Couple Has 3 Children
Dustin, left, with brother and caddie Austin Johnson. (Getty)
Steve and Kandee Johnson had 3 children and raised them in South Carolina.
We all know Dustin; at 30 (31 on June 22) he’s one of the best golfers in the world.
The couple also has another son and daughter.
Austin, 28, is Dustin’s caddy and an athlete himself. Austin played Division college basketball at Charleston Southern.
They also had a daughter, Laurie.
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2. His Parents Divorced & Don’t Speak
(Getty)
Scott and Kandee divorced in the late 1990s and are apparently not on speaking terms.
Dustin and his sister Laurie lived with their father after the divorce.
But the divorce affected Johnson in a bad way and he began skipping school and fell in with the wrong crowd.
3. Steve Was a Former Club Pro
Steve was a club golf pro when Dustin was a child at Mid Carolina Club in Prosperity, South Carolina, but lost his job. He hasn’t worked in golf since.
Dustin says his father currently has a business putting decals on the sides of delivery trucks.
Dustin told Golf Digest his father was baseball, football, basketball and soccer star in high school, but didn’t pick up a golf club until later in life.
Steve would bring Dustin to the driving range and everyone could see the potential in young Dustin at an early age.
4. Kandee’s Father Was Drafted by the Lakers
Dustin and the Johnson family got their athleticism from somewhere and we might not have to look any further than Kandee’s father, Art Whisnant.
Dustin’s grandfather was a standout basketball player for South Carolina, garnering first-team All-Conference honors in 1962. He was then a fifth-round NBA draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Whisnant is also member of the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and coached Dustin in 7th-8th grade basketball, where he excelled on the court.
5. Kandee Works For the State of South Carolina
Dustin Johnson with fiancee Paulina Gretzky. (Getty)
Kandee still lives in South Carolina, working for the state.
As for Dustin’s relationship with Paulina Gretzky, daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, Kandee told The State in South Carolina:
She is a sweet girl and beautiful. She is very sweet with Dustin too, very attentive.
