golfrewind.com

He's a good putter and a decent ball striker, but I wouldn't annoint him just yet. As of today he is has exactly two wins on tour. If that isn't a fluke major winner than I don't know what is. Prior success on a mini-tour, the Nationwide, and made a Ryder Cup team, does not an elite player make.

Wait and see on this one. If he backs it up with more wins and consistently contending at majors, then we'll have an answer. Until then, he's no better than Beem, Campbell, Curtis, Hamilton, Lawie, Micheel, or any other journeyman pro that had one good week during a major.

Yeah, but they still make a good living and get to play golf all the time. Sounds good to me!

Been reading the media stuff on Johnson. Iowa would not take him in as a player; no potential. Mediocre college career at Drake. Struggled on the mini tours till he came to the top. Made it into the "show" by playing his way in. 31 years old, same as Tiger. Big difference though as Tiger came up with the proverbial "silver spoon" in his mouth and Johnson had to get his butt kicked. Tiger got it easy at Stanford and all his equipment for free and got to play in all the rich kid AJGA events. I like Johnson over the rich kids like Woods any day. Give me a scrapper to root for!! Yep-- I am from Cal and hate everything Stanford stands for, including Woods. When the chips are down, give me a dog that ain't pretty but wants to win!

Historically inaccurate (to say the least).

Tiger was not a "rich kid", and he earned his way into Stanford based on his talent (aka merit) - as both an athlete and a very good student.

NOBODY on the PGA Tour deserves to be called a unlikely champion!! Unlike every other sport theres nobody out there to hold hands and share blame, unless your Sergio! Zach has mad skills and deserves all the respect from the general public. Its funny when Tiger gets beat we assume someone got lucky, Zach can play and big tee shots dont always win tournaments. I promise you there has never been a Masters champion as grateful. Im not a church guy but he really has his faith and that was all it took to push him over the edge and get it done. I love to see guys that just go do it, win majors! Not to mention he just had his first child, everything is daises for ZJ!!!

What ticks me off is how most of the media has played it that Tiger "deserved" to win so he could be one green jacket behind Jack and tie the great Bobby Jones with 13 majors. Let me make something abundantly clear. No one DESERVES to win. Hall of Fames are littered with great players that "deserved" to win the big game. Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Jim Kelly, Steve Largent, Ken Anderson, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, and the list goes on and on. To parody the old Smith-Barney commercial with John Houseman, "Zach Johnson won the Master's the old-fashioned way. He EARNED it." And that is exactly what Zach Johnson did. I don't want to get off on a rant here, but I am sick of hearing all of the talking heads in the media saying that Zach is no Tiger Woods. OF COURSE HE'S NO TIGER WOODS, MORON. ONLY TIGER WOODS IS TIGER WOODS. You don't hear them say that Ernie is no Tiger Woods, or Phil is no Tiger Woods, or Vijay is no Tiger Woods. Why? Because they have more titles to their name along with a few majors. Obviously these schmucks forget that everyone has to start somewhere. No one comes out on tour with an instant 10-15 wins. Zach is a solid player that knows what his strengths and weaknesses are and he is not going to force something that he is not 100% confident that he can pull off 9 times out of 10. They say that he is "boring". Why? Because he hit more fairways and more greens than every one else? Because he wasn't trying to force the ball on to the green on the par 5's in two? If the rest of the field worried less about trying to crush the cover off of the ball and more about hitting the fairway and setting up easier approach shots, the outcome of the tournament would have been a lot different. Or maybe, just maybe, Zach Johnson was the best player at the Master's in 2007. He certainly was in my book. He made some great par-saving putts and played the par 3's in 11 under-par for the week. His drives were accurate and his irons shots were on the money. Congratulations Zach. That's my take.

Yes, I am not saying anything about what happens tomorrow, what his future holds, whether he wins big again or not (different discussion). But it is simply no surprise (looking in the retrospectoscope) that he won. He showed true grit and nerveless putting at the Ryder Cup, has won once on tour, which is no easy task, has won back to back to back in the minors (imagine the combined skill and some luck that takes at any level- like Arnold Palmer says- "the more I practice, the luckier I get"), and has a practical modest approach to things. He reminds me of Mike Weir and Justin Leonard, both overachievers and scrappers. One person not surprised he won is Tom Lehman, who knows his game and character.

I guess Gary Player said the line about practice.

I like your take DaCaddy! I don't think anyone is anointing Zach Johnson anything. I think what folks are doing is giving Zach the credit he is due for playing well, playing smart, and playing tough when other much more heralded players couldn't do all of the above as well as he did during the Masters. I don't believe anyone said Zach was better than Tiger, Ernie, Phil, etc. Most people here seem savvy enough to understand that it would be folly to compare a two-year career on tour with 10 and 15-year careers. I look for Zach to perform better than some of the other single major winners because of his mental toughness. He is a consistent player who has his head and heart in the right place to win more than once. He isn't likely to have the kind of career of some of the big names, but I wouldn't be surprised by anything good that he does.

"I love to see guys that just go do it, win majors!" -- BobDob

Here, here!! Tha Masters is not an open-- unless you have won it you're not invited without earning your way in. No fluke here-- Zach attack!

the guy is my hero. wasnt the best golfer on his HS team, didnt get into the college he wanted, wasnt the best golfer on his college team, fought through nationwide tour, got on the pga did well enough to make some serious $$ then wins the masters?!?!?! come on thats a great story for all of us dreamers out there.

Zack Johnson is doing fine at the Verizon tournament this week. Maybe the Masters win is just a launching point.
Anyway, I wish him the best. He has worked hard to get his game to this level.

FYI - No pro is a killer every week. It is a little comforting (in a sordid way) as my game changes daily.

What I see is the pros that have consistent records adjust to the courses and conditions they play that week. It was no surprise that the Masters was won by a control player considering the conditions.

Also, some courses just click with some pros or visa versa. A recent article I read mentioned Tiger Woods avoided some events because he either struggled with the layout or he wanted to avoid a "birdie fest" tournament.

It appears course management may be pretty important. Guess I will look at my own game.

I agree. Isn't the media great. The Masters is not a monarchy and it really annoys me when the "steal the winners thunder" by focusing on how Tiger slipped on his drive to the win at the end. Zack Johnson out performed every other golfer in the tournament that week. He should get the laurels for that not have the credit deflected.

In his defense, I imagine Tiger is tired of being asked why he did not win, as if his attendance is a win. Tiger has talent, but at times, it did not look like his heart was in the game at the Masters.

I used to watch Nationwide pretty close (fantasy golf) and followed Zach when he got his field promotion by winning his third event...I don't remember for sure but it seems the wins came pretty close together. It was like something clicked for him...don't know if it was mental, spiritual, some revelation with his swing or what but something kicked in and it must have been the real deal because his gritty consistent play continues to impress. His course management and discipline at Augusta were key to his win...well, that and a strong finish and good putting. He was definitely the best golfer that weekend and certainly no fluke.

Shade