The Golf Watch

Somewhere in Orlando, Zach Johnson will be watching college basketball tonight

With a first round of 1-under 71, Zach Johnson is well on his way to making the cut at Bay Hill.  Let's hope the major champ gets a later tee time Saturday.  

Northern Iowa takes on Michigan State Friday night with a 9:37 p.m. scheduled tip.  

As a native Iowan, he grew up rooting for the Hawkeyes and knows the significance of this weekend for his state.  

Even though he attended Drake University, Johnson was raised in nearby Cedar Rapids and I'd have to assume he will have a vested interest in tonight's game.

So here's to a low round Friday so that the former Masters champ can watch the game uninterrupted. 

Top players Johnson, Love, Glover to console Byrd

Craig DeVrieze called it "the luck of the draw."

After their early morning tee times Thursday at the John Deere Classic, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Lucas Glover and Charles Warren will hop on a private jet to Columbia, S.C. to attend visitation services for Jim Byrd, father of their good friend Jonathan Byrd.

Byrd passed away Monday after battling a brain tumor for more than a year. 

Johnson earns fifth career victory; Fujikawa, Maruyama finish outside top-10

Zach Johnson fought off fellow one-time major champion David Toms to win the Sony Open in Honolulu by two strokes.  Johnson continues to prove that his Masters win in 2007 was not a fluke. 

As noted in the headline, Tadd Fujikawa (T32) and Shigeki Maruyama (T12) both finished outside the top-10, meaning that they will not receive exemptions to play in the FBR Open. 

Sadly, Maruyama missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have ensured him a spot in Scottsdale.   Looks like he will have to stick to his initial plan of playing mostly in Japan.  It's a shame--he's great with the crowds. 

BCC lives up to potential, Johnson salvages season

The Senior Players Championship at Baltimore Country Club was a visually pleasing tournament.  I was on hand at Five Farms following Maryland's own Fred Funk and Jay Haas.  There are a couple of observations I'd like to make:

1. BCC is one of the real hidden gems on the East Coast.  Typically, when outsiders think about top courses in the Maryland area, Congressional CC and Caves Valley come to mind, yet BCC ranks just as high, if not higher in my book.  Typically, television doesn't do justice to the true beauty of a course.  Even though it was only two hours worth of coverage, NBC did a nice job with their visual presentation.

2. There were very few spectators at the tournament. Much of this had to do with the Ravens game against the Colts.  After all, Charm City is first and foremost a football town.  But what needs to be addressed is the scheduling of the event, mainly, it being held several weeks after the PGA Tour's Tour Championship.  When the US Senior Open was held at Caves Valley in July, 2002, the crowds were huge, so timing plays a huge part.

D.A. Weibring ended up ousting Funk by a stroke, winning his first Champions Tour major. You can read the Baltimore Sun story here.

As for the PGA Tour, Zach Johnson proved that he could win outside of Georgia, capturing the Texas Open.  Read the recap here.

A tough time for Johnson

When Zach Johnson won The Masters last year, he described himself as just an average guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Johnson was in his hometown for his sister's wedding the last week and a half before he left for Torrey.  He was still there on Sunday morning when the flooding had started. 

Since then, 24,000 people have been evacuated as the floodwaters continue to rise.

According to Jim Moriaty of Golf Digest, Johnson said:

I've got a lot of friends back there, a lot of family. They're pretty smart individuals. I think we'll put some plan together, something that will help. I don't know if it will be the smallest things or the biggest things. I don't know where things are. It's kind of a question mark because it hasn't stopped yet.

Johnson is at 8-over-par and is currently on the cut line. 

Johnson signs deal with BMW

Jon Show of Sports Business Daily reports that reigning Masters champ Zach Johnson has signed a 2-year deal with BMW.  Show writes:

Mercedes Benz may be the new provider of courtesy cars at Augusta National, site of this week’s Masters, but '07 champion Zach Johnson will be pulling up Magnolia Drive in the new BMW X6.

Johnson will not wear the BMW logo in competition, but is expected to make corporate appearances, according to a source. 

Keeler: Johnson's number one enemy is himself

Sean Keeler of The Des Moines Register wrote an interesting column earlier today about what Zach Johnson will be up against when he defends at Augusta National next week.  Keeler argues:

For Zach Johnson, the No. 1 enemy at Augusta National this week is not the heathen media. It's not the tweak at the tee on No. 1. It's not the new green on No. 7.  It's himself.

If I had to pick the menu for the Champions Dinner, I'd be nervous too.

Zurich Classic has fine marketing people

While driving on 10-West in New Orleans earlier today, I couldn't help but notice an extremely large billboard with Zach Johnson on the front promoting next week's Zurich Classic.  The billboard has a great location (across from the Superdome) and is seen by hundreds of thousands of people each day.  Clearly, the tournament does a tremendous service for the community with all of the money raised for charity, and there is a push for the people of New Orleans to come.  It must be satisfying for the organizers that the top players in the game continue to come back, including Johnson, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, and Justin Rose. 

Johnson shoots third round 60, a new course record at East Lake

Zach Johnson's two wins on the PGA Tour in '07 came in Georgia, and although he might not win this week at the Tour Championship, he still has something to remember.  Zach Johnson fired a 10-under 60 on Saturday at East Lake GC, a new course record.  Johnson said after his round, "It’s a magical number.  It’s something as a golfer you just think: When?  What if?  And how?  But, you really can’t focus on it, that’s probably what it boils down to.  You’ve got to get a lot of breaks go your way...Hopefully I’ve got a 59 in me in the future."  Johnson had eight birdies, one eagle, and no bogeys.  He needed to birdie the par-3 18th in order to shoot a 59, but hit his tee shot in the greenside bunker and parred the hole.   

Johnson quadruple bogeys 9th, trails by six

Reigning Masters champion Zach Johnson shared the third round lead with Rory Sabbatini as both players came to the difficult par-4 9th hole at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.  Johnson hit his drive into the right rough, and seven shots later, ended up with a quadruple bogey.  He then proceeded to double bogey the par-4 10th and finished with a 6-over 76, trailing third round leader Rory Sabbatini by six strokes.  Tim Rosaforte said on the Sprint Post Game, "How does something like that just happen to a Masters Champion, a 2-time winner, a guy whose in the run for player of the year?"