The AT&T Classic Wrapup
Zach Johnson made his first cut, also his first top-20 finish, on the PGA Tour at the BellSouth Classic in 2002. Johnson won his first PGA Tour title at the Bell South Classic in 2004. Johnson won his third PGA Tour title of his career at the AT&T Classic, formerly the BellSouth Classic, this past weekend at the TPC Sugarloaf.
Johnson has had many first times at Sugarloaf. He experienced another first when he and Ryuji Imada both played in their first PGA Tour playoff.
They both got to the playoff by birdieng the par-5 18th. And that was where they went for their first playoff hole.
Imada had the honor off the 18th tee and hit his teeshot through the rock hard Sugarloaf fairways. The course had played hard and fast all week, thanks in part to this tournament’s schedule change to May, and Johnson used the hard conditions to apply pressure on Imada. He nailed his driver down the middle of the fairway, letting it hit the fairway and run another 40 yards. Advantage: Johnson.
Imada faced a 256 yard second shot to a green that hugged a water hazard on the left side. He and his caddy wavered in the decision making process, deciding what the right play was, but it looked like stalling. Imada’s first club he took out of his bag was the 3 wood. That was what he went with. On the biggest stage of his life with the newly crowned Masters champion 40 yards in front of him, Imada went for it. The ball traveled through the air, appearing to be hit well, and, to the dismay of the Georgia Bulldog, his shot was not met with barks by the crowd but with dejected groans as the ball landed in the hazard.
Johnson, watching this entire process, stepped up to his second shot and rolled the dice.
The defending Masters champ could have laid up, could have played the easier shot, but he did not. Showing his game did have some flair for the dramatic, he could hit the pressure shot, he, like Imada, went for the green. Johnson’s three iron hit the back of the green and settled 60 feet away. He rolled the putt to within five inches of the hole to record his third PGA Tour win.
The win was huge for both players.
Imada almost assuredly secured his PGA Tour card for next year with his $583, 200 pay day.
Johnson’s win put him into a class of players that, earlier in his career, he could have only dreamt about. He now stands with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh as the only multiple winners on the PGA Tour this year. Johnson is now fourth place behind those same three on the money list and FedEx Cup point standings.
Check-in later all this week with hookedongolf.com for coverage of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.
