Hot News: Dustin Johnson suspended from PGA Tour for positive cocaine test: report

American golfer Dustin Johnson has been handed a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour after testing positive for cocaine, according to a report.

Golf.com cited a source on Friday saying Johnson failed a test for marijuana in 2009 and two for cocaine in 2012 and 2014. The site reported Johnson received a ban for the 2012 test, but the Tour is not obligated to announce discipline for positive tests for recreational drugs.

Johnson announced Thursday he was taking a leave of absence from golf to seek help for 'personal challenges.' In a statement from Hambric Sports Management, the 30-year-old Johnson said his leave of absence was effective immediately. It did not indicate how long he would be out, though agent David Winkle told the PGA of America he would not be at the PGA Championship next week or the Ryder Cup at the end of September.

'I will use this time to seek professional help for personal challenges I have faced,' Johnson said. 'By committing the time and resources necessary to improve my mental health, physical well-being and emotional foundation, I am confident that I will be better equipped to fulfill my potential and become a consistent champion.'

He asked for privacy 'as I embark upon this mission of self-improvement.'

'We will certainly miss Dustin Johnson at Gleneagles, and we wish him the best,' U.S. captain Tom Watson said. 'As one of the longest hitters in the game with an undefeated record of 3-0 at Medinah in 2012, he has clearly been an asset for the United States team. That said, the United States is a team with an abundance of talent.'

Players at the Bridgestone Invitational said they were surprised by the announcement.

'If anything, I just hope this is the start of something really, really positive,' Zach Johnson said. 'And I don't know what happened. I don't know what the specifics are, nor should I know. That's none of my business. I feel for him.'

This is the second time in two years that Johnson has missed a major under curious circumstances. He pulled out of the Masters in 2012, saying that he tweaked his back while lifting a jet ski. According to the Golf.com source, Johnson was actually serving a suspension for cocaine - a claim Winkle denied.

The PGA Tour, which does not comment on disciplinary action, offered little in a statement Thursday.

'We have nothing to add to Dustin's statement, but we wish him well and look forward to his return to the PGA Tour in the future,' the tour said.

Johnson is No. 16 in the world ranking with eight PGA Tour victories. He is the first player since Tiger Woods to go from college to winning in each of his first seven seasons on the PGA Tour. He lost a three-shot lead in the final round of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, closing with an 82. Later that year, he was assessed a two-shot penalty on the final hole of the PGA Championship for grounding his club in a patch of sand, not realizing it was a bunker at Whistling Straits.

Johnson last year got engaged to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky.

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