Zach Johnson

“Elmcrest CC, in Cedar Rapids, is where it all started when I was growing up. The tree-lined course has a very demanding layout that requires you to be accurate off the tee and avoid a number of well-placed water hazards on some of the holes.”

“You need to make a trip to Des Moines in August, because the Iowa State Fair really is a sight to see. The Iowa Fairgrounds are usually packed for those 11 days, and you get a real sense of what a classic Midwest fair is all about.”

“I've come a long way since 2007 when I kind of launched my golf career.”

“Goal setting will never stop. I will continue to work hard and practice hard and see where things go.”

“I don't know if I have a brand. I just see myself as an athlete and a competitor, someone who just works really hard at trying to get better at golf. I guess I'm kind of the feel-good story who's seen every level of professional golf.”

“I discovered what it meant to 'live for Christ,' and that it honestly was something I wanted to do. The facts were there, and I could sense the Holy Spirit at work.”

“When I'm off the golf course, and my wife and I have free time, which is not very often, we really enjoy movies. I'm a movie nut; she might even be more so. Holiday in our house is the Oscars.”

“I'm not the most charismatic, maybe emotional, fun-packed individual on the golf course; I get that.”

“Golf is not my priority. I would hope people see me as a Christian man who loved his family, who loved being in the heat of competition and sometimes succeeded at it; who understood that golf was his job and that he was very lucky to play it for a living.”

“I don't hit it as far as a lot of guys do, so I have to be in the right spot in the fairway to score, and that means driving it well. The two biggest keys for me are to make a good transition and to keep my hands ahead of the clubhead through impact. I want to feel as if my swing is two swings: one going back and another coming down.”

“I'm a foodie. I enjoy it a lot, and contrary to what it looks, I eat a lot. My comfort food, of all things, would be southern soul barbecue.”

“I like boring golf. That's kind of what butters my bread.”

“If I'm trying to rebound after a bad hole, I just go back to tempo and process and rhythm, and I cling to my routine.”

“I like to look good on the golf course.”

“Whenever I'm in Des Moines, I always make a trip to Manhattan Deli for a sandwich. I spent a lot of time there when I was going to college at Drake, so it's usually my one 'go-to' food stop when I'm in town.”

“I feel like God gave me the ability to play a game. I try to take it very seriously. I realize it's just a game.”

“Winning the 2007 Master's was a dream fulfilled; culminating on Easter Sunday with my family was very special. You couldn't write it up any better.”

“I'm a Christian guy, and when it comes to my priorities, it's the utmost. For me, just to calm myself down, to keep my perspective when I'm playing, to not make too big a deal of it... that's where I go to. The peace that comes with that allows me to play free golf.”

“I have no superstitions. I don't have to have a Sunday outfit. I don't have socks or underwear I have to wear.”

“If you put me in the fairway at my average distance into a par 4, 175 to 180 yards, and you put another player in the rough 120 yards from the green, over time, I'm going to wear him out.”