LIV golfer Pat Perez took credit for the pointed comments blasting PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan that were originally attributed – wrongly – to Dustin Johnson.
The Australian Associated Press on Monday erroneously quoted Johnson as saying, "We don't give a damn how (Monahan) feels. We know how he feels about us, so it's mutual."
"It was me," Perez texted to Sports Illustrated on Monday. "DJ said nothing, it was all me."
Perez blasted Monahan on Sunday after Johnson's 4Aces won the team event at the LIV Golf stop in Adelaide, Australia. Perez, along with Patrick Reed and Peter Uihlein, comprise the 4Aces team.
"I said we don't care what Jay thinks cause we know how he feels about us and when I say WE, I mean me," Perez told SI. "I can't speak for the whole group."
Perez's clarification Monday came hours after a representative of Johnson's sent an email to some 20 media outlets to refute the attribution to Johnson.
"Dustin remains grateful for his time on the PGA Tour and has the utmost respect for Commissioner Monahan," Hambric Sports CEO David Winkle wrote, in part.
Johnson, 38, resigned his PGA Tour membership last June to join the breakaway tour. He won 24 times on the PGA Tour and earned major titles at the 2016 US Open and 2020 Masters.
Perez, 47, earned three victories on the PGA Tour before joining LIV in 2022.