Zach Johnson beat the best to win the Masters in Atlanta, but he’s just a “normal” Iowan
Dan Brawner
April 10, 2007
Zach Johnson is the real deal. After Johnson, a 60-to-1 underdog, won the Masters golf tournament in Atlanta last Sunday, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne told him at the “green jacket” ceremony that Johnson’s life had changed forever. But Zach countered, “I’m a Midwest guy from Iowa. And that’s what it’s all about.”
As a Masters winner, Johnson now stands with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan and even the unbeatable, bionic freak of nature Tiger Woods, whom he trounced in Atlanta. And yet, Johnson, the short, shy, boyish 31-year-old from Cedar Rapids insists he’s a “normal guy”.
In this age of multi-million dollar contracts, steroids, agents and product endorsements, a normal athlete from a humble background is a real oddity. Especially in golf which is not exactly the sport of fire breathing gladiators, seeking payback for their underprivileged childhood-- but of doctors and accountants, sneaking their Mulligans and sipping single malt Scotch in their comfy golf carts.
So much about golf is about pretending–pretending to exercise, pretending to commune with Nature, pretending to keep score. Even the grass on a golf course seems artificial, absurdly pampered, manicured, weedless, bugless, birdless. Golf is an outdoor sport only in the sense that Disneyland’s Pirates of the Carribean ride is an ocean voyage. We’re not expecting authenticity from golfers. That’s why Zach Johnson is such a surprise.
Here’s the guy who beat golf’s top predator, Tiger Woods, the man genetically engineered to win the Masters, the robot with ice water in his veins. But Johnson, Atlanta’s new 500-pound gorilla, gets all misty-eyed whenever he talks about his wife Kim or Jesus or his infant son Will. And we believe him. We’d be ashamed not to.
Iowans are proud Johnson won the Masters. And we’re even prouder that he did it as an Iowan-- and not aw-shucks-Andy-Griffith-Hollywood humble-- but the down-to-earth way Iowans are supposed to be.
Zach Johnson wasn’t expected to win the Masters. Many people in the game still can’t believe he did it. “This guy Johnson came from nowhere!” they grumble. No, he came from Iowa.
As a Masters winner, Johnson now stands with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan and even the unbeatable, bionic freak of nature Tiger Woods, whom he trounced in Atlanta. And yet, Johnson, the short, shy, boyish 31-year-old from Cedar Rapids insists he’s a “normal guy”.
In this age of multi-million dollar contracts, steroids, agents and product endorsements, a normal athlete from a humble background is a real oddity. Especially in golf which is not exactly the sport of fire breathing gladiators, seeking payback for their underprivileged childhood-- but of doctors and accountants, sneaking their Mulligans and sipping single malt Scotch in their comfy golf carts.
So much about golf is about pretending–pretending to exercise, pretending to commune with Nature, pretending to keep score. Even the grass on a golf course seems artificial, absurdly pampered, manicured, weedless, bugless, birdless. Golf is an outdoor sport only in the sense that Disneyland’s Pirates of the Carribean ride is an ocean voyage. We’re not expecting authenticity from golfers. That’s why Zach Johnson is such a surprise.
Here’s the guy who beat golf’s top predator, Tiger Woods, the man genetically engineered to win the Masters, the robot with ice water in his veins. But Johnson, Atlanta’s new 500-pound gorilla, gets all misty-eyed whenever he talks about his wife Kim or Jesus or his infant son Will. And we believe him. We’d be ashamed not to.
Iowans are proud Johnson won the Masters. And we’re even prouder that he did it as an Iowan-- and not aw-shucks-Andy-Griffith-Hollywood humble-- but the down-to-earth way Iowans are supposed to be.
Zach Johnson wasn’t expected to win the Masters. Many people in the game still can’t believe he did it. “This guy Johnson came from nowhere!” they grumble. No, he came from Iowa.
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