USA TODAY International Edition
PUTT, PLAYOFF AND WIN
Staying true to his game, he prevails in 3- man playoff
Iowan Zach Johnson is the 6th to conquer Masters and a British Open on Old Course
Zach Johnson’s not too big, not too strong, not the most talented guy in the room.
But he has plenty of grit and guts, and he works and he works, on the golf course and in the gym. He’s also one of the best putters on the planet. He’s not too bad with a wedge in his hands, either.
And the man who says he’s just an ordinary guy out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, now has a Claret Jug to go with a green jacket.
Johnson made birdie from 28 feet on the 72nd hole to polish off a 6- under- par 66 on the Old Course in the Auld Grey Toun on Monday and earn a spot in a three- man, four- hole aggregate-score playoff in the oldest championship in golf. He promptly birdied the first two holes — both from 15 feet — and defeated Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen to win the 144th British Open.
Johnson, who had begun the championship with a sterling 66 in the worst conditions Thursday, finished regulation at 15 under. He stood off the 18th green as Oosthuizen, who won the Open here in 2010, struck a 10- footer for birdie that would have forced the playoff to sudden death. The putt lipped out.
Thus Johnson, who won the Masters in 2007 in frigid cold on a rock- hard Augusta National, joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo as the only players to win the Masters and a British Open on the Old Course. That’s
pretty good company indeed.
“I’m grateful. I’m humbled. I’m thankful,” said Johnson, who won his 12th PGA Tour title and moved to No. 12 in the world rankings. “I’m honored. This is the birthplace of the game, and that jug means so much in sports, specifically this tournament and golf.”
It was a week of patience, perseverance and trust as this Open was forced to go to a Monday finish for only the second time since 1860 because of torrential rains and gale- force winds.
But Johnson was the last man standing before the imposing Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews that looms over the first tee, surviving some of the biggest names and games in golf, including Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose.
Johnson is a man of faith who cited Scripture written in his yardage book all week. He’s a devoted husband and father of three ( Will is 8, Wyatt 5 and Abby Jane 2), and he likes to say he lives a simple life in St. Simons Island, Ga., where he goes to high school football games on Friday nights and soccer games on Saturdays.
He is who he is and doesn’t try to be anything he’s not — on and off the course.
“I feel like God gave me the ability to play a game. I try to take it very seriously. I realize it’s just a game,” said Johnson, who made sure to thank his team around him, including his wife, Kim, and trusted sidekick, caddie Damon Green. “But this isn’t going to define me or my career; at least I hope it doesn’t. It’s not my legacy. Granted, as a professional athlete and as a golfer I’m going to relish this. I’m going to savor this. I’m humbled by this. But my legacy should be my kids, my family.”
He is 39 with a bald spot but says that as he has aged he has come to enjoy practic- ing more and working out in the gym, “even if it doesn’t look like it.”
Over five days on the ancient Old Course softened by weeks of rain, Johnson was tested even more because the longest hitters had a huge advantage.
At almost 5- 11 and “be generous, I’m 165,” Johnson knows he can’t bang with the big boys on the Tour. While tempted to take more aggressive — and dangerous — lines with his tee shots, he stuck to his strengths: patience, accuracy off the tee, a superb wedge game and an envied putter.
He made eight birdies in the last round — most set up by his wedges — and made huge pars on the inward nine that muscles up as it goes back toward town and into the wind. He remained true to his talents and stuck to his game plan.
Sports psychologist Moe Pickens works with Johnson and says one of his main strengths is his mind game. Pickens said the last time he saw Johnson make a mental mistake on the golf course was in the 2007 U. S. Open at Oakmont, where he used 3- wood instead of a driver far too often and ended up farther back in the rough as a result. In other words, he played too safe instead of relying on his straight driving abilities.
Pickens also said Johnson’s temperament was key.
“The more you play these majors, the better you get,” Pickens said. “He doesn’t get too high on the golf course. And he doesn’t get too low.”
And Johnson won’t get a big head. He knows what he did on a magical Monday in the rain, in the wind, at a place they call the Old Course.
But come Tuesday, he’ll be back to being Zach Johnson.
Said Johnson, “I’m just a guy from Iowa who lives in southeast Georgia who has a green jacket and something that most guys don’t have to drink out of right now.”