Zach Johnson owns two of the most-wanted trophies in sports: the Claret Jug after winning the British Open last year at St. Andrews, and the green jacket after winning the Masters in 2007.
He’s trying to figure out a way this week at Augusta National to bring the two together in a moment that could break twitter if the photo is taken at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday. Johnson wouldn’t say when the photo might happen, but that would seem to be the best time because he can’t take his 40 regular green jacket off the grounds.
“You’re talking about two of the biggest, iconic symbols in sports,” he said on Monday. “To have that honor to don the green jacket and drink out of the Claret Jug is pretty special.”
There are 14 golfers who have won the Masters and British Open in their careers. There are very few who have won the British Open and then won the Masters the next year. The last to do it was Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2001.
Johnson likes his chances this season. He has consecutive top-10 finishes in his previous two events, the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play and Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Plus, the superintendent at his home course did his best to try to emulate Augusta National by making the greens fast and shaving the aprons around the greens down so much that even if Johnson said they may have been too fast.
Plus, he has the experience of playing 11 Masters from which to draw. At 40 years old and with 12 PGA Tour victories, he has become one of the players that the less-experienced golfers are seeking for advice on how to navigate Augusta’s treacherous greens and how to handle a pressure unlike any other.
“It’s just a place that you get your feet on it more, the better it is,” Johnson said. “And I don’t care if it’s last November, January, the more you can get your feet on these grounds as a player, the better it can be.”
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