Sky Sports Golf star wanted 'ground to eat her up' after awkward Dustin Johnson moment
Sky Sports pundit Iona Stephen hoped the ground beneath her would swallow her up after misnaming Dustin Johnson in a live TV interview. The 41-year-old, who at the time was on the verge of claiming the world No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, had just won the inaugural Saudi International tournament at the Al Murooj Golf Course.
The competition was the first European Tour event to be played in Saudi Arabia, as well as one of the first to be co-sanctioned between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Stephen was under pressure to get the name of the event into her interview with Johnson as he ran out winner with a total score of 19-under-par for the weekend.
However, the stress of making sure she called it the 'Saudi International' rather than the 'Saudi Invitational,' which she had in her head, led to her fumbling Johnson's name instead. Recalling the incident during a chat with Peter Finch on his Rough Cut Golf Podcast, Stephen said: "I called the world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Justin Dohnson, live in a winner's interview."
When Finch teased if it was a big event, Stephen added: "It was a huge event, yeah. At the time it was one of the first co-sanctioned events in the world. It was when the DP World Tour first co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour, and it was called the Saudi International.
"And I had been told I needed to say the name of the tournament, the Saudi International, in the winner's interview; like, 'Congratulations, you've won the Saudi International...' But all I kept wanting to call it was the Saudi Invitational, and I couldn't get this out my head.
"So I was going, 'Saudi Invitational, Saudi Invitational, Saudi International, Saudi International, Saudi International...' Then they went, 'Cue Iona live,' and I went, 'Justin Dohnson, congratulations!'
"And he looked at me, I looked at him. I wanted the ground to eat me up, it was awful, the whole thing. PTSD from that for many years."
Stephen has been a popular member of the Sky Sports Golf team since 2020, having previously played the game to a professional standard. Most recently she was on hand at Royal Portrush for The Open Championship, which was won by none other than Scottie Scheffler.
Johnson also featured in the event, finishing T23 on six under-par. He has won 24 events in total with the PGA Tour and another nine on the European Tour before he joined the controversial LIV Golf breakaway league in 2022.
As captain of the 4Aces team, Johnson plays alongside team-mates Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III and Patrick Reed. He has enjoyed plenty of success since making the move across to LIV, winning one event each year. He is also the second-highest earner on the roster at present, with £44,417,051 to his name in winnings, including a £13million payday for being crowned 2022's Individual Champion.
The only man to have earned more than Johnson with LIV is Talor Gooch, who has racked up a staggering £49m. However, Johnson isn't the only big name in the golfing world who jumped ship from the PGA Tour to play under the LIV banner after the league's inception of 2021.
The likes of Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson all remain part of LIV, competing week in, week out for incredible individual and team cash prizes. Just three events remain on the circuit this season, with LIV Golf Chicago landing at Bolingbrook Golf Club, LIV Golf Indianapolis at Chatham Hills and the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan all taking place in August.
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