Zach Johnson: player profile
Zach Johnson is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour who turned professional in 1998. Born and raised in Iowa, Johnson started playing golf when he was about nine or ten. Johnson is the son of a chiropractor and is the eldest of Dave and Julie Johnson’s
three children. Even though golf was not a popular sport in Iowa, Johnson still played it and worked on his skills at Elmcrest Country Club.
Along with golf, Zach played many sports during his youth. He played football, soccer, basketball and baseball. He played number two on the Regis High School golf team and also led his team to the state championship in 1992. Achieving so much at such a young
age, Zach was truly talented from the start.
After graduating from high school, Johnson matriculated at Drake University in Des Moines. Ranked number two on the Drake golf team, he led his team to three NCAA regional tournaments and also two Missouri Valley Championships. Zach’s uncle, Tom Harris,
qualified for the 1975 NAIA national tournament.
Being modest, Zach has admitted that he isn’t the best player on his school or college team, but he did accept that every year the talented player kept getting better.
Right after turning professional, Zach played on the developmental tour circuit. His endeavours included the Buy.Com tour which is now called the Nationwide Tour, the Hooters Tour and The Prairie Golf Tour. Johnson won the final three regular season events
in the Hooters Tour in 2001. In 2003, he came first on the money list on the Nationwide Tour. That year, his record earnings were $494,882. This amazing finish hence earned Johnson a playing card for the PGA Tour.
It was in 2004, that Johnson won his first PGA Tour event at the BellSouth Classic outside of Atlanta. Two years later, he made the U.S Ryder Cup team and finished ninth on the US Points list.
2007 was a memorable year for Johnson when he won the Masters tournament in Augusta. Zach beat Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini by only strokes. Defeating such golf legends with such a narrow margin definitely takes some skills. This win hence
gave Zach his first major title. Being the 2007 Masters also hoisted Johnsons from number 56 to number 15
in the world rankings. This was the first time in history that a player outside the top 50 in the world rankings won a Masters tournament.
About his win, Johnson said "This being Easter, I cannot help but believe my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ was walking with me. I owe this to Him.”
Just weeks after his amazing victory, Zach won the 2007 AT&T Classic in a playoff over Ryuji Imada. On a role in 07, Johnson moved to his career best 13th place in the world Rankings. Zach’s next triumph came in 2008 at the Valero Texas Open.
This was the first win of the player outside Georgia. Zach won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2009 and also defended his title at the Valero Texas Open. His second victory at the Texas Open came by Johnson defeating Jamie Driscoll in a playoff.
During that tournament, he shot a third-round 60 and hence became the first player to shoot 60 twice on the Tour. Previously, Zach did the same was during the 2007 Tour Championship. Apart from winning, Johnson also had good finishes in 2009. He tied for
second at the John Deere Classic and came in third place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Johnson came in his career best fourth place at the end of the 2009 season.
2010 didn’t begin so well for the player but things started looking better when Zach won the Crowne Plaza Invitational in May at Colonial. This gave Johnson his seventh victory of the PGA Season.
As for his personal life, Zach is married to Kim and they are members of the First Baptist Church in Orlando. Kim and Zach have one son and reside in Georgia.
Zach Johnson is a very able player and has the potential of achieving much more.
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