For now, Zach Johnson happy playing against the best, not the best of his age group

SILVIS, Ill. — Zach Johnson making the 36-hole cut at the John Deere Classic is a dog-bites-man story, though he’s an old dog by PGA Tour standards.

In fact , the 49-year-old son of Cedar Rapids is the oldest of the 156 players who teed it up here this week, and half of them missed the cut while Johnson shot a 3-under par 68 Friday for a 36-hole total of 5-under 137.

That’s a long way from first-place, but it means getting paid and having the chance to climb the leaderboard Saturday and Sunday. It’s the 17th-straight made cut here for Johnson, and this is the 23rd-consecutive JDC he has played.

Time passes quickly after all. Ten years ago this month, Johnson tied for third-place at this tourney, the sixth of his seven Top-5 finishes here between 2009 and 2017 that included a victory in 2012.

Also 10 years ago, he won the Open Championship at St. Andrews, a bookend for his Masters title eight years before.

That was the last of Johnson’s 12 PGA Tour wins. He’s still pursuing — and believing he can pursue — another.

“I feel good about my game,” Johnson said Friday. “What it comes down to is execution, because my game’s good, my swing’s fine. I actually putted really well today and missed a few that I couldn’t believe, a misread or maybe a pinch of speed here or there.

“I’m creating opportunities and that’s all I care about. I want to give myself opportunities.”

What he also wants to get himself a Tour card for an early 50th-birthday present. He is 103rd in the FedExCup point standings. The top 100 have full membership for 2026. Nos. 101 through 115 get ample playing opportunities.

But Johnson has another option once he turns 50 next Feb. 24. He would instantly be eligible for the PGA’s Champions Tour, for those 50 and over. For players that age who still have serious game, that tour is an ATM.

Stewart Cink, a good friend of Johnson’s, is killing it there. Also doing exceptionally well are former major tournament champions Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington

Players who hop to that tour, though, are bidding the PGA Tour adieu. You aren’t playing against the best in the world anymore, you’re playing against the best in your age bracket.

And while Johnson has just one Top Ten this year, it was a tie for eighth at the Masters. Against the best in the world.

“Putting myself in contention out here is fulfilling,” he said. “Getting better at the game, as far as I can feel it, is very fulfilling.

“I still feel like I can get better in certain aspects of the game. The process of trying to get better on and off the golf course is very fulfilling. Golf's my outlet. I'm a competitor first. So, you know, whatever it takes to compete out here is all I care about. I just want to compete.

“It’s hard. It’s getting harder. Whether it's the depth of the fields or whether it's my age or all of that combined, I am the oldest guy in every field that is hyperbole. And so, you know, I take that, but it's also that's also, like, motivational. I can still go out here and compete, and I feel like if I have my best it will show.”

Johnson emphatically says he doesn’t know which tour he’ll play next year.

“I'm thinking about it, but I don't dwell on it, and there's no anxiety with it whatsoever. I've always operated right where my feet are, and that's kind of my focus.

“I think time will tell. I think I think it'll be a pretty obvious decision, once late February hits. I'll just say my brain and my heart are connected in this. I’m grateful that I’m going to have probably more than one option, and that's a blessing.”

The options will be better if he finishes in that FedExCup top 100. He would help that quest with a bunch of birdies Saturday and Sunday in the draining Midwest heat and humidity.

“I’ve got heat issues,” Johnson said. “Distinct heat issues. Like clinical, certified heat issues. I’ve implemented a nice, new regimen this week and I feel given the two days I went through I feel really encouraged about what I did and how I can fire back.”

Saturday and Sunday, Johnson yet again tries to outperform a lot of against players half his age. Those who made Friday’s cut, anyway.

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