Zach Johnson is the second Iowan to win one of golf’s major championships. The Cedar Rapids native and former Drake standout birdied three of the final six holes on Sunday to take command and win the Masters.
He finished with a final round of three under par 69. "Today was a day of perseverance and patience, I guess," Johnson said after his round. "…I know that I had a lot of people give me some good words of wisdom over the past week — my coaches, clearly; our tour chaplain. Being Easter Sunday, I felt like there was certainly another power walking with me and guiding me…I just feel very blessed and very honored."
Johnson entered Sunday’s final round tied for fourth and two shots off the pace. After bogeying the first hole on Sunday, Johnson rebounded with two straight birdies and put himself in the hunt on the back nine. "I didn’t look at the board, so I guess I really didn’t know what was going on. I just kept doing what I was doing," Johnson said. "…From the fans, I could kind of tell I was in the lead or close to the lead."
Johnson’s caddy was keeping an eye on the leader board and it wasn’t until the 15th hole that the caddy told Johnson he had a "couple shot" lead. "I guess ignorance is bliss sometimes. I just tried to maintain my focus, maintain my gameplan and fortunately it came out that way," Johnson said.
The weather made it a tough week for all the golfers and Johnson won the tournament by finishing one over par. "My mindframe was pretty clear all week," Johnson said. "It seems to me that this tournament is won on the back nine on Sunday…I stuck to my guns. I played my own game."
Johnson finished two shots ahead of Tiger Woods, Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen. Johnson becomes the first Iowan to win a major since Davenport’s Jack Fleck defeated Ben Hogan in a playoff at the 1955 U.S. Open.