Zachary Harris "Zach" Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and the 2007 Masters champion.
Background
The son of a chiropractor, Johnson was born in Iowa City, Iowa and raised in Cedar Rapids, the oldest of Dave & Julie Johnson's three children. Playing many sports as a youth (baseball, basketball, football, and soccer), Johnson took up golf at age 10 and developed his skills at Elmcrest Country Club. He played #2 on the Regis High School golf team and led them to an Iowa 3A state championship in 1992, his sophomore year.
Following graduation from high school in 1994, Johnson enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines. As the #2 player on the Drake golf team, he led the Bulldogs to three NCAA regional meets and two Missouri Valley championships. Johnson received early inspiration when his uncle, Tom Harris, qualified for the 1975 NAIA national tournament. Johnson has admitted to not being the best player on his high school or college team, but was quoted in his Masters speech saying, "I just kept getting better every year."
Career
Johnson turned professional in 1998 and played on the developmental tour circuit, including the now-defunct Prairie Golf Tour, the Buy.com Tour (now called the Nationwide Tour), and the Hooters Tour, where he won the final three regular-season events in 2001. In 2003, he topped the money list on the Nationwide Tour with then record earnings of $494,882, earning an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. He won his first PGA Tour event at the 2004 BellSouth Classic outside of Atlanta. Johnson qualified for the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, finishing 9th on the U.S. points list.
On April 8, 2007, Johnson won the Masters Tournament in Augusta by a margin of 2 strokes over Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini. It was his first major title. His score of 289 (+1) tied Sam Snead (1954) and Jack Burke Jr. (1956) for the highest winning score at the Masters. His victory took him from #56 to #15 in the world rankings; he was the first outside the top 50 in the world rankings to win the Masters in the history of the ranking. After winning, he mentioned his Christian faith and thanked God, saying "This being Easter, I cannot help but believe my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was walking with me. I owe this to him." [1]
Six weeks after winning the Masters, Johnson won the 2007 AT&T Classic in a playoff over Ryuji Imada. Following the win, Johnson moved to a career-best 13th in the world rankings. His next PGA Tour victory, and first outside the state of Georgia, came at the 2008 Valero Texas Open.
Johnson won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2009, and successfully defended his title at the Valero Texas Open in May with a playoff victory over James Driscoll.[2] With a third-round 60, Johnson became the first player to shoot 60 twice on the PGA Tour, having done so previously at the 2007 Tour Championship. The win was Johnson's sixth on tour. He finished the season ranked a career best fourth on the money list.
Personal life
Johnson and his wife, Kim, are members of First Baptist Church in Orlando[3]. Johnson was raised a Catholic, but joined his wife's church prior to their marriage in 2003. They have a son, Will, and now reside in St. Simons Island, Georgia.[4].
On September 4, 2007, Zach Johnson led the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch of the Chicago Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field.
Professional wins (18)
PGA Tour wins (6)
| Legend |
| Major Championship (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (5) |
|
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning Score |
Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
| 1 |
Apr 4, 2004 |
BellSouth Classic |
-13 (69-66-68-72=275) |
1 stroke |
 Mark Hensby |
| 2 |
Apr 8, 2007 |
The Masters |
+1 (71-73-76-69=289) |
2 strokes |
 Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini,  Tiger Woods |
| 3 |
May 20, 2007 |
AT&T Classic |
-15 (71-66-69-67=273) |
Playoff 1 |
 Ryuji Imada |
| 4 |
Oct 12, 2008 |
Valero Texas Open |
-19 (69-66-62-64=261) |
2 strokes |
 Charlie Wi, Mark Wilson,  Tim Wilkinson |
| 5 |
Jan 18, 2009 |
Sony Open in Hawaii |
-15 (69-65-66-65=265) |
2 strokes |
Adam Scott, David Toms |
| 6 |
May 17, 2009 |
Valero Texas Open |
-15 (68-67-60-70=265) |
Playoff 2 |
James Driscoll |
1 Defeated Ryuji Imada with birdie on first extra hole.
2 Defeated James Driscoll with birdie on first extra hole.
Nationwide Tour wins (2)
Other wins (10)
Major Championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Results in World Golf Championship events
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
PGA Tour career summary
| Year |
Wins (Majors) |
Earnings ($) |
Rank |
| 2004 |
1 |
2,417,685 |
19 |
| 2005 |
0 |
1,796,441 |
39 |
| 2006 |
0 |
2,452,250 |
24 |
| 2007 |
2 (1) |
3,922,338 |
8 |
| 2008 |
1 |
1,615,123 |
53 |
| 2009 |
2 |
4,714,813 |
4 |
| Career |
6 (1) |
16,975,649 |
40 |
United States national team appearances
See also
References
External links
