Zach Johnson has a routine, and you dare not alter it

One of the most insightful pieces I've read about Zach Johnson was this one at The Golf Channel's Web site.

I've seen Cedar Rapids native Johnson play a lot of rounds of golf over the last several years, and it didn't take very many to realize he is a creature of habit and routine. But a Wednesday column by Golf Channel senior writer Rex Hoggard on the eve of Johnson's title-defense at the Texas Open, brings that home.

The piece explains how Johnson's final round at the Quail Hollow Championship two Sundays ago started going haywire before he ever reached the first tee. Johnson began the day with a two-shot lead, but ended tied for 11th after a 76. Excerpts from Hoggard's column:

The driver Johnson hired to wheel his RV back to Georgia was two hours early and somehow during the rushed explanation, the keys to the mobile-Johnson castle became locked inside the bus.

As a result Johnson arrived at Quail Hollow 30 minutes later than planned. Now, the runtime of your average sitcom may not seem like much to your generic Monday morning quarterback, but to Johnson, and most other Tour pros, that time is crucial.

“I was in front of myself all day,” Johnson said, “and No. 2 (where he made a triple bogey-6) was a shock to my system.” ...

“It's not superstition, it's just a fact. If he gets rushed he doesn't play too good,” (Johnson's sports psychologist, Morris) Pickens said. “One of his key thoughts on the golf course is tempo, tempo, tempo. Any time you get rushed things become more magnified and can have an emotional/physical impact on you.” ...

What he learned is that his detailed pre-round routine is non-negotiable. With clinical precision, Johnson can run through his game-day ritual: arrive at the golf course two hours before his tee time, 30 minutes of stretching and working out, 20 minutes to eat, 10 minutes of putting on the practice green and chipping, 30 minutes hitting golf balls on the range, 10 more minutes on the putting green and it's off to the first tee.

Of all the things Johnson does well –10-footers for par, fairways, greens, trophy presentations – adjusting on the fly may not be one of his strengths.

“That's been a recurring theme with Zach. I remember two years ago at Southern Hills (PGA Championship) it seemed like (caddy) Damon (Green) was always on him to get to the tee, get to the tee,” Pickens said. “I don't think he got off to a really good start. It's like, ‘Hey man, you don't need to be rushing to the tee.' He needs a little bit more time.”

Johnson is one of only a handful of the top 50 ranked players in the world (he's No. 26) playing at the Texas Open in San Antonio. He won that event last October to break out of a months-long slump in a big way. The tourney's  date was changed to May for this year and the indefinite future to fit into a three-week Texas rotation of PGA Tour events.

"I love coming back to places where I've got good feelings," Johnson said Wednesday in the Texas Open press tent. "Granted, it was only seven month ago, so it's going to be even more fresh than a year."

The full transcript of Johnson's remarks can be found here.

Johnson's tee time for Thursday's first round is 12:55 p.m.