Zach Johnson's victory may have been a surprise, but it is not a fluke. After four days of exasperating golf, it figured that Johnson would win his green jacket
By ALAN SHIPNUCK
SENIOR WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Published: April 10, 2007
That's what you learn as a pipsqueak holding your own in team sports. Johnson was a starting wide receiver on his seventh-grade football team, despite weighing less than 90 pounds. As a high school sophomore he led his golf team to the state championship, and as a senior he was a 120-pound, all-city right wing in soccer. Oh, and while at Drake, he won a campus-wide three-point shooting contest, canning 19 of 25 from beyond the arc."He's one of those irritating guys who is good at everything he does," says Kim.
That a finesse player such as Johnson prevailed at the Masters only added more intrigue to a controversial course setup that was years in the making. The regime of former Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson will always be remembered for his pugilistic defense of the club's all-male membership, but his lasting legacy is having remade the layout in his own macho image. He may have been replaced this year by the kinder, gentler Billy Payne, but last week Hootie enjoyed the last laugh as his course — with a little help from Mother Nature — humiliated the best golfers in the world.
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