Rick Reilly takes a mulligan regarding Zach Johnson

Never give anyone any credibility unless a) They admit when they've made mistakes and b) They can laugh and their own errors and flaws.

That said, Rick Reilly of ESPN gets a gold star today for admitting he badly misread a putt when it came to a comment he made about Cedar Rapids native Zach Johnson following Johnson's 2007 Masters win.

This is the e-mail to Reilly at ESPN's site, and Reilly's response:

was just wondering if you are surprised that Zach Johnson continues his stellar play on tour this season and even over the course of the two years since he won the Masters. I believe that you mentioned on the Dan Patrick Show after Johnson won the Masters that Johnson would be bussing at an Applebee's in a year. I think based on what he has accomplished since his Masters victory, that he deserves a little more respect. By the way, Zach is currently first in FedEx Cup points and third on the money list. I bet you didn't see that happening.

For your information, I never said that. What I said was, "I think Zach Johnson -- in 10 years -- has a real chance to be your server at Olive Garden." I was wrong. On the continuum between Ben Curtis and Ben Hogan, he's headed way more towards Hogan. He's now won six times and has one more major than Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Colin Montgomerie, Stephen Ames and Adam Scott, combined. So I'd like to rephrase my statement: "I think Zach Johnson -- in 10 years -- has a real chance to be the owner of the Olive Garden restaurant chain. And if I don't shut up, I'll be working for him."

Johnson, by the way, is in a threesome with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els Thursday and Friday at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. If you're known by the company you keep ...

Click here for the transcript of Johnson's visit to the press tent at the Memorial on Wednesday.

One Web site with a bent toward, shall we say, odds and ends (mostly odds), has pegged Johnson at 22 to 1 to win the Memorial. Woods is 11 to 4.

For a nice column about Johnson, I direct you to Mark McCarter of the Huntsville (Ala.) Times. Click here to read it.