Zach

Johnson

Stricker was the man in charge at the 2020 Ryder Cup and he’s passing the baton to Johnson for the 2023 edition in Rome. While Stricker spends most of his time on the senior circuit these days, Johnson is still piling up cuts made on the PGA TOUR. He got off to a fast start last week at Harbour Town before fading to T54 at week’s end. Stricker has a few notable finishes at the Zurich Classic including a T6 at the 2012 edition while Johnson has a missed cut and T57 in two tries. This duo can discuss Ryder Cup strategy this week and perhaps do some scouting for captain’s picks. They are longshots to contend but something inside of the top 25 would certainly qualify as a successful week for this Ryder Cup pairing.

The early wave was completed with no major weather issues, although it was looking a bit sloppy with rain trickling in at the end of that wave. With storms arriving in the area, play had to be suspended for now. This will add to the list of rounds unable to be completed on the intended day, becoming more and more of a regular occurrence this season. From the early wave, Viktor Hovland set the pace at 7-under while five others posted at 5-under or better including Zach Johnson (5-under 66) who arrived at just 142nd in the FedExCup race.

The 46-year-old Johnson, who will be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2023, partnered with past Open champs Nick Faldo, Louis Oosthuizen and John Daly, all of whom won the claret jug at St. Andrews. The team finished at 6-under par in the four-hole event, which also featured the star grouping of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Lee Trevino and Georgia Hall, who were T-2 at 4-under along with Team Davies, featuring Dame Laura Davies, Jack Bigham and Shane Lowry. Johnson will be making his 17th start in The Open, where he’s made 12 cuts with a win in 2015 among his three top 10s (also finishing T-9 in 2012 and T-6 in 2013). In 2015, Johnson shot 66 in Monday’s final round to come from three strokes back after 54 holes to finish at 15-under 273, which tied with Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman. Johnson birdied the first two extra holes, made bogey on the third (the Road Hole) and a par on the last to finish the four-hole aggregate at 1-under par, one stroke better than Oosthuizen. Johnson’s 66 was the lowest final round by an Open winner at St. Andrews.

Johnson was a mid-tournament WD at the RBC Heritage, citing an illness. It was just the third time in his career that he backed out in the middle of an event. He was 4-over thru 15 at the time of the WD. He’s had more than two weeks of rest since that WD so he should be good to go this week at TPC Potomac. Johnson has been boom or bust this season with a trio of top 20s to go along with nine missed cuts, in 15 total events played. With nine missed cuts or WDs this season, he’s already matched his career-high in that regard, for a single season (9 missed cuts in 2005). From a performance standpoint, his short game is still sharp, currently ranked 75th in strokes gained around-the-green and 42nd in putting.

This is just the third, mid-tourney WD for the 46-year-old in 461 events, first since the 2007 Memorial Tournament nearly 15 years ago. Grouped with past champs C.T Pan and Davis Love III, he was 4-over thru 15 holes (2 birdies, 4 bogeys, 1 double) and called it a day after a run of double-bogey-bogey at 13-15. The recently named Ryder Cup captain for Team USA in Rome (2023) checked in off a missed cut by one at last week’s Masters Tournament (74-75), and was making his 17th appearance in the event with two prior top 10s, but none since a best of 2nd nine tries ago in 2012.

Johnson will be the 30th U.S. captain since the Ryder Cup’s inception in 1927. “I played my first Ryder Cup in 2006, and … it was immediate that I was fixated on it. I loved it, and the team camaraderie, chemistry, everything about it, just grabbed me. I’m a team sports guy, and when you play an individual game and now you’re in this arena as a team, as a band, it was captivating and I just fully embraced it. I loved everything about it. … I’ve loved it ever since that day, and I can sit here and say it’s the best game – excuse me, the best event in the sport of golf,” said Johnson, a Drake University alum who has served as assistant captain in the last two Ryder Cups. He has an 8-7-2 record across his Ryder Cup career, including a 3-1-1 mark in singles competition, and Johnson also has represented the U.S. in four Presidents Cups, compiling a 10-6-1 record, including a 2-2 mark in singles. Johnson named Steve Stricker – who captained the U.S. to a 19-9 win at Whistling Straights last year – as his first vice captain. He’s in the field this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as a sponsor exemption. He’s missed the cut just once in 15 appearances at Bay Hill with four top 10s.

Disappointed by the missed cut last week at the Sony Open, the two-time major winner was itching to get to Palm Springs. Putting together a strong opening effort on Thursday, he continued the good play today at PGA West. Starting slow, the 45-year-old was 1-over through the first three-holes. Holding steady, Johnson tacked on seven birdies in his next 15-holes to sign for a 6-under 66. Hitting 12-of-14 fairways and 15-of-18 greens in regulation, Johnson was asked what the key to his success was. He replied, “If you get off to a slow start which I kind of did both days you just got to remain patient because every hole is an opportunity to make a birdie. Yeah, certainly there’s a couple holes you got to grind it out and accept a par, but for the most part, especially in La Quinta, I would say at the Nicklaus too, you feel like you tee it up and if you’re hitting it somewhat decent, you’re going to have an opportunity or a look. So, you just got to remain patient. I think that’s number one. Obviously getting your feet on the grounds and familiarity with any sort of golf course or tournament is key and, yeah, I’ve got, shoot, I played Q-School here 20 some odd years ago, so very familiar with the area.” Johnson will take to the Stadium Course at PGA West tomorrow alongside Brandt Snedeker.

The local resident pelted all 18 greens in regulation on day one but that was much tougher in today’s wind. He had to settle for 13 GIR as he moved over to the Plantation Course. “I can think of three shots right off the top of my head, where my caddie said ‘great shot’ and two times where my playing partners said ‘great shot’ and I’m trying to make a par. That’s hard, but it’s the nature of the beast right now.” That does a good job of painting the conditions they faced today. Johnson’s obvious highlight of the round came at the par-5 18th when he came inches from an albatross but settled for a kick-in eagle. ZJ will now have his full attention on the Seaside Course this weekend as he tries to win his sponsor’s event.

The local resident and RSM ambassador owns three top 10s in 11 appearances, all three coming in his last four tries. That includes a best of T6 last year, where he also began at Seaside (66-67-65-68), while today’s 61 is his best at the event in 38 rounds, brushing aside a prior-best 64/R3 in 2018 (finished T8). The 45-year-old landed 11 (of 14) fairways and all 18 greens in regulation, gaining 3.378 strokes on approach and 3.534 tee-to-green. He rang up nine birdies at holes 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13 and 15, three from between 11 and 18 feet, whiffed one from 4'8" at 9, and posted 1.764 SG: Putting. He checked in with no form to speak of, missing three of four cuts on the season and off a T54 at last week’s Houston Open (72-69-70-74). See link below to post-round comments.

The 45-year-old Johnson, a member of five U.S. Ryder Cup teams and an assistant captain in 2018, will make his fourth start in this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship and his third at Country Club of Jackson, where he finished T-14 in 2020 and T-23 last season. Overall last season, the 12-time Tour winner made 18 cuts in 24 starts, including six top-25 finishes and three top 10s. Johnson qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs for the 14th time, ending the season at No. 109 in the standings. Of note was his T-8 finish at the 2020 U.S. Open Winged Foot, his second top 10 at the event and first since 2016 (T-8). He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (2.403 per round). The Georgia resident went on to make 11 more cuts in a row before ending his streak at the Valero Texas Open for his first MC of the season after making 12 straight. Johnson is considered a leading candidate to captain the U.S. side in the 2023 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Marco Simone Golf Club near Rome.