'I'd love to': Former world No 1 sets sights on Ryder Cup return at Adare Manor

Admittedly helped by fairly benign conditions on the east coast before Storm Amy sweeps in from the west on Friday, Johnson carded an eight-under-par 64 at Carnoustie, sharing the honour of the day’s best round at the Angus venue with Dane Jacob Skov Olesen.

Johnson’s eye-catching effort came in his first appearance in the DP World Tour Pro-Am since 2012, with his amateur partner this week being ice hockey legend and now his father-in-law, Wayne Gretzky.

“Coming over with Wayne obviously was part of it, but I just love playing in the Dunhill,” said the 41-year-old, who is among 17 LIV Golf players competing in this week’s $5 million tournament.

Johnson, who, due mainly to the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit not receiving, any counting points, has slipped to a lowly 628th in the Official World Golf Ranking, won all five of his games as part of the US team that hammered Europe by a record 19-9 margin at Whistling Straits in 2021.

He has since missed the last two matches after failing to qualify, with Brooks Koepka in 2023 the Bryson DeChambeau this year showing that it is still possible for LIV Golf players to make the US team. “A little bit,” he said, smiling, in reply to it being pointed out that it’s been downhill for the Americans since his last appearance.

Revealing he’d watched the finish of the 45th edition on Sunday from his couch back home in Florida before heading over to Scotland, he added: “Obviously they (the Americans) made a really good comeback on Sunday to make it really interesting. But, with the Europeans as far ahead as they were, the chances were very, very slim. At least they made good TV on Sunday, though.”

Is he keen to be part of the team that will be bidding to stop Europe from making it three wins in a row in Ireland in two years’ time? “I’d love to,” he declared. “I just need to play a little better. But I finally feel like I have my game coming back into form. I’ve got a lot more confidence in it and I am starting to swing it well again. I went through about a year where I just wasn’t swinging at it very well.

“But I feel I am now starting to hit a lot of nice shots and feel a lot more consistent. It just wasn’t very consistent for a long time now, but the last few months have been nice.”

If he can keep up his recent form - he is now an impressive 33-under-par for his last five stroke-play rounds - Johnson will certainly be in with a chance of making that Ryder Cup return. “Yeah, of course, I want to be there,” he said. “I just need to play a bit better and I think I’d definitely get a hard look if I can, so hopefully I will be at Adare.”

On a day when Englishman Matthew Jordan, a former St Andrews Links Trophy winner, underlined his love for the Old Course by carding a nine-under 63, American Ryan Brehm and Dutchman Darius Van Driel both signed for the same score at Kingsbarns. Brehm’s effort was probably the most remarkable of the day given that he’d missed nine cuts in a row worldwide coming into this week.