Nothing could be more unnerving in golf than sitting on a two-stroke lead with no holes to play and with Tiger Woods bearing down on you. Magnify that when the stage is the season’s first Major tournament.
Iowan Zach Johnson can now rest easy with a Green Jacket on his back after his stunning victory at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
The 31-year-old finished 32nd at last year’s Masters and missed the cut in 2005. On Sunday, he birdied three of the last four holes to out-fox Woods for a two-stroke victory.
Johnson shot a final-round of three-under-par 69 for a 72-hole total of one-over 289, which equalled the highest-ever winning total at the Masters.
Woods, aiming for his 13th Major title and third in a row, was two strokes behind on three-over 291, sharing second place with South Africans Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini. England’s Justin Rose and American Jerry Kelly shared fifth place on 292.
Third-round leader Stuart Appleby, of Australia, was equal seventh with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington on 293.
Johnson had only one previous PGA Tour title, the 2004 BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, and was probably unspoken of as a possible winner when the tournament began on Thursday.
Associated Press quoted Johnson as saying:
“This is very surreal – very, very surreal. I didn’t think it would be this year, but I had no idea.â€
Indeed, the conditions made it a lottery. It was dry, there was a hint of frost in the morning and bogeys were more common than birdies. Woods had the unusual experience of taking the lead early in the final round, losing it and failing to get it back. He also suffered a broken club.
For Johnson, though, he has that one victory that will mark him down in history as a Major winner. Not many people can boast about out-smarting the Tiger on the home stretch of a Major.
