Zach Johnson ‘can’t wait’ for Masters to start

Zach Johnson heads into his 19th Masters this week at Augusta National, 16 years sine his life-changing win at that storied course.

The 47-year-old from Cedar Rapids will make his drive down Magnolia Lane next week with inconsistent recent form. In his last three starts, he has a tie for 12th at Honda Classic, a tie for 68th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a missed cut two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship.

Johnson did not play in last week’s Valero Texas Open and, as expected, the veteran and current U.S. Ryder Cup captain is fired up for the annual rite of spring.

“The Masters is always a week me and my family look forward to,” Johnson told The Gazette in an email. “It’s not hard to find motivation to get your game ready for Augusta National.

“I believe I have a great plan to prepare (in the time) leading up and I look forward to putting together a game plan based on the elements (Augusta) presents that week. I cannot wait.”

Though his recent play has been inconsistent, Johnson insists he’s “encouraged” with what he’s been doing on the course.

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On their annual Masters preview call for ESPN, major champs and veteran broadcasters Andy North and Curtis Strange gave their thoughts on Johnson’s chances at contending this year in the Masters, in addition to what he would need to do efficiently in order to perform well.

“I think it’s an uphill battle for (him) to contend right now,” North said. “Zach is working hard on the Ryder Cup, and he’s got his attention a lot of other places, and not being a longer player, I think that even makes it even more difficult at Augusta National as you get older.”

Length has never been Johnson’s strong suit, but one needs only to look as far as Kevin Na — another shorter hitter — to see that you can place well at today’s longer Augusta National without overpowering the course. Na has finished in the top 14 in each of the past three years. He averaged 290 yards off the tee last year in a partial season on Tour as he moved to LIV in June.

Johnson has averaged 290 yards off the tee thus far this season.

“For Zach to play exceptionally well there, I would think that his short game and wedge game, particularly third shots into par-5s, would have to be just spectacular,” North said, “and for Phil Mickelson, I think (the magic he usually finds) would just have to hit him as he drives in the front gate and then we’ll see what happens.”

Strange also sees Johnson’s prospects at contending as slim heading into this year’s Masters, which begins Thursday.

“Zach hasn’t played well of late, and his length would be — remember when he won, he wedged it as well or better than anybody ever has,” Strange said, “and then Phil, I go back, he hasn’t played a lot of competitive golf, and when he has played, he’s played quite poorly for Phil’s standard.

“Yeah, I don’t see either one. Certainly you can catch lightning in a bottle, but it would be highly unlikely for either one to play well.”

Garrett Johnston has covered golf for 13 years as a freelance journalist. You can follow him on Twitter @JohnstonGarrett. The past three years, he’s hosted the “Beyond the Clubhouse” podcast with players, caddies, and broadcasters.