After six weeks off, which is what happens when one plays poorly enough to miss qualifying for the playoffs,  Zach Johnson made all the putts he needed to make on Sunday to claim his fourth Tour victory. 

During a three hole stretch on the front nine, Mr. Johnson hit a six iron and two wedges inside of 8 feet for birdies that set him up for his first victory outside the state of Georgia.  “I’ve been working on my putting over the last six weeks with my teachers and it really paid off this week,” Johnson said. “I had a tough year, but the putts started to fall into today and that why I’m at the top of the leaderboard.” 

Indeed, on the back nine Mr. Johnson holed a variety of par putts from 4 to 12 feet in length.  One of the most impressive shots of the day was his second on the par 4 18th hole.  After a discussion with his caddy over whether he should hit a hard 9 iron to cover the 146 yards, slightly uphill into the wind, the caddy suggested hitting a small 8 iron.  That shot, played with a draw, finished 5 feet from the hole and resulted in the final margin of two strokes over Charlie Wi (61), Mark Wilson (63) and rookie Tim Wilkinson (64).

Mr. Wi had his best finish of his three year stint on Tour.  “I didn’t look at the scoreboard until I got to the 15th hole. I knew Zach was close, but I was playing very good,” Wi said. “I was very happy to make those birdies on 15 and 16. I wish I could have made one more.”  Ah Charlie boy, you really mean you wish you could have made three more, so as leave Mr. Johnson one shot behind you.  But I can forgive the oversight, when you just finished shooting nine strokes under par politeness and an inability to do the math is quite alright.  ( my guess is that quote is taken from before the final birdie on the 18th hole which lead to the two stroke winning margin, but I could be wrong and Mr. Wi could just have been a tad bit excited about the size of the check he was about to pick up)

The afternoon held some entertaining golf, with six players tied at 13 under par early in the round.  Mr. Wilson, Mr. Wi, and Mr. Wilkinson had chances to win, in particular Mr. Wilkinson who’s birdie putt from 18 feet on the 18th hole would have tied him at the time with Mr. Johnson at 17 under par.  But the pressure of the moment appeared to affect the stroke Mr. Wilkinson applied to his birdie putt, which was short and left. 

Next, this tournament will return to a place of stature in the FedEx Cup race, as it’s dates have been moved up into the month of May along with the Byron Nelson and Colonial tournaments.  When I turned on the Golf Channel on Thursday night and saw the play being televised was the Texas Open, I thought for a minute I was watching some old tournament footage.  I’d forgotten that this event had been relegated to the minor leagues opposite the football season.  I’ll say I felt some sadness.  With the move back to May, this event will return to something much more meaningful.