It would be easy to blame Zach Johnson's recent Sunday struggles on nerves, but that would conveniently overlook the fact that he owns a green jacket, and that he won the Sony Open in January. After a rough final round at Quail Hollow two weeks ago (one that CBS's Jim Nantz suggested might have been due to migraines, though he made sure to point out he wasn't making excuses for Johnson; duly noted, Jim, and happy 50th, friend), Johnson stumbled through most of Sunday's round at the Valero Open.
On a day when most of the field was in red numbers, Johnson shot even par. Of course, he fired a course-record 60 on Saturday, good for a three-shot lead heading to the final day, but that was quickly forgotten when he played his first six holes one-over par.
James Driscoll, who is still best known as the U.S. Amateur runner-up to Jeff Quinney in 2000, needed just 62 shots to catapult 20 spots on the final day. At 4:30 PM ET, he drained a birdie putt on his 72nd hole to get to 15-under and sole possession of the lead. For another 100 minutes, anyway.
Johnson bogeyed the 10th to fall to 14-under, then birdied the par 3 13th before parring five consecutive holes on his way to the scorer's tent and a return trip to the 18th tee box for a playoff with Driscoll.
Both players striped their drives on the par 4 426-yard finishing hole. Johnson had 166 yards to the flag for his second shot -- the same distance he had 15 minutes before -- and hit a knockdown 6-iron to 12 feet. Driscoll, 10 yards closer to the flag, had his approach end up 15 feet outside of Johnson. His subsequent putt never scared the hole while Johnson seemed convinced his birdie was a formality about two feet after it left his putter face. He was right.
And suddenly, nobody's talking about how he fell apart in Charlotte earlier this month. Instead, we're reminded that he has won four times in two years, including the 2007 Masters and last year's Valero Open -- and more importantly, that golf's a pretty tough game. Just ask all those folks who are convinced Tiger Woods' is done.
