Golf - Johnson Holds Off Woods at Masters for 2nd Career Victory
AUGUSTA, Ga ? The wind had finally eased at Augusta National Golf Club, and Zach Johnson, a son of a chiropractor from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, stood behind the 18th green not exactly sure what to do.
Tiger Woods, the last golfer with a chance to catch him, was still playing in the gloaming of the 71st Masters, so Johnson leaned in to hug his wife, Kim, and planted a kiss on the cheek of his 14-week-old son, Will, refusing to let go for several seconds
?I was an emotional wreck,? Johnson said. ?I was a slob. I knew there were still chances for guys to make birdies.?
When Woods stalled with three closing pars, though, Johnson claimed the Masters title after one of the most difficult weeks in the history of the tournament.
Johnson, 31, fired a closing three-under-par 69 on Sunday to defeat Woods (72), Rory Sabbatini (69) and Retief Goosen (69) by two strokes for his first major championship and second Tour victory. His one-over-par 289 tied the highest winning score in Masters history. Sam Snead, in 1954, and Jack Burke, Jr., in 1956, also claimed green jackets with a 289.
Johnson?s victory came on a fast, dry golf course that stretched 7,445 yards. It came over four days of challenging conditions: warm and windy weather to start the tournament; a chilly, gusty Saturday; and a pressure-filled Sunday with swirling breezes.
It came six months after Johnson was one of four rookies on the United States Ryder Cup team and four years after he graduated from the Nationwide Tour.
?I think I?m mentally tough,? said Johnson, who entered the tournament ranked 56th in the world. ?I don?t hit it very far, I don?t overpower a golf course, but I think I?m a pretty decent putter. At Augusta National, putting is premium.?
Johnson birdied three of the last six holes, offsetting a bogey on No. 17, to win the Masters in just his third appearance. He missed the cut in 2005 and finished tied for 32nd last year.
On a day when six golfers led or tied for the lead, Johnson outlasted the game?s biggest names, including a late charge from Woods, the four-time champion bidding for his third consecutive major.
Woods, who briefly held the lead by a stroke after making par on No. 4, stood four shots back as he played the par-5 13th hole. He curled a three-wood shot around the trees and was left with just over 190 yards to the flag. Woods then lofted an iron shot to 3 feet of the cup and made the putt for eagle to cut Johnson?s lead to two. The gallery erupted.
Two holes in front, on the par-5 15th hole, Johnson stepped away from his ball.
?I backed off the shot, partially because of the roars,? Johnson said. ?I figured it was Tiger for an eagle. I didn?t really know what was going on. I didn?t know where I stood. I was still able to execute. I guess ignorance is bliss sometimes.?
Woods seemed to have momentum after the eagle, but he failed to capitalize on the final five holes. Two years ago, he chipped in for birdie on the par-3 16th hole in an eventual victory over Chris DiMarco in a playoff.
On Sunday, trailing by two shots at No. 16, Woods laced an iron to 10 feet, but slid the putt past on the high side. On No. 17, Woods split the fairway, but left his iron shot in a bunker and could only make par.
Needing to hole out from the fairway on the final hole, Woods did not come close. It ended up 25 feet to the right of the hole, and he settled for par and a runner-up finish.
Last year, he blamed putting woes as he failed to catch the winner, Phil Mickelson. This year, he put the onus on two closing bogeys on Thursday and Saturday.
?I had a chance,? he said. ?The last two holes, you just can?t afford to do that and win major championships.?
For Woods, who entered the final round trailing Stuart Appleby by one stroke, none of his 12 victories in majors have come when he was behind after 54 holes. Johnson?s victory was the first not to come from the final Masters group, which was Woods and Appleby, since 1990.
Johnson said he first visited the Masters tournament as a fan in 2001, when he was playing golf on the mini-tours.
?I told myself I?d never come unless I played, but I did come,? he said. ?I walked the golf course. My mouth was agape. I was in Augusta. You don?t see that on minitours.?
Six years later, he was in Augusta and inside the ropes, holding off the game?s best player, giving Iowa its biggest victory in golf since Jack Fleck, a driving-range pro, defeated Ben Hogan in a playoff at the 1955 United States Open.
?I?m Zach Johnson from Cedar Rapids, Iowa,? he said. ?That?s about it. I?m a normal guy.?
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