Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. At the 2023 Ryder Cup, Johnson captained the U.S. squad against Europe in Rome, Italy.
Contents
Early life
The son of a chiropractor, Johnson was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and raised in Cedar Rapids, the eldest of Dave and Julie Johnson's three children. Playing many sports as a youth (baseball, basketball, football, and soccer), Johnson took up golf at age 10 and developed his skills at Elmcrest Country Club. He played number-two on the Regis High School golf team and led them to an Iowa 3A state championship in 1992, his sophomore year.
Following graduation from high school in 1994, Johnson enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines. As the number-two player on the Drake golf team, he led the Bulldogs to three NCAA regional meets and two Missouri Valley championships. Johnson's uncle, Tom Harris, qualified for the 1975 NAIA national tournament.
Professional career
Johnson turned professional in 1998 and played on the developmental tour circuit, including the now-defunct Prairie Golf Tour, Buy.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour), and Hooters Tour, where he won the final three regular-season events in 2001. In 2003, he topped the money list on the Nationwide Tour with then record earnings of $494,882, earning an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. Johnson won his first PGA Tour event in 2004 at the BellSouth Classic outside of Atlanta, one stroke ahead of runner-up Mark Hensby. In 2006, Johnson recorded a number of impressive results, with two runner-ups and a third at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. As a result, he qualified for the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the first time in 2006, finishing ninth on the U.S. points list.
In April 2007, Johnson won his first major title at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, two strokes ahead of runners-up Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini. His score of 289 (+1) tied Sam Snead (1954) and Jack Burke Jr. (1956) for the highest winning score at the Masters. His victory took Johnson from #56 to #15 in the world rankings; he was the first outside the top 50 in the world rankings to win the Masters in the history of the rankings (introduced 1986). After winning, he mentioned his Christian faith and thanked God, saying: "This being Easter, I cannot help but believe my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was walking with me. I owe this to Him." Six weeks after winning the Masters, Johnson won for the third time on tour at the AT&T Classic in a playoff over Ryuji Imada. Following the win, Johnson moved to 13th in the world rankings. His next PGA Tour victory, and first outside the state of Georgia, came at the Valero Texas Open in October 2008, where he finished with weekend rounds of 62 and 64 to finish two strokes ahead of a chasing pack of players.
Johnson won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2009 for his fifth victory on the PGA Tour, and successfully defended his title at the Valero Texas Open in May with a playoff victory over James Driscoll. With a third-round 60, Johnson became the first player to shoot 60 twice on the PGA Tour, having done so previously at the 2007 Tour Championship. The win was Johnson's sixth on tour. Other highlights in 2009 include a tie for 2nd place at the John Deere Classic and a solo 3rd-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He finished the season ranked a career best fourth on the money list. In 2010, Johnson started the season solidly on the PGA Tour, making ten of his first eleven cuts without any significant results. Then in June 2010, he won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, his seventh PGA Tour victory. Johnson only missed two cuts all year en route to qualifying for the season ending Tour Championship and the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team, his second appearance in the event.
Personal life
Johnson and his wife, the former Kim Barclay, were members of First Baptist Church in Texas Orlando.
He was raised a Catholic, but joined his wife's church prior to their marriage in 2003. They have two sons and a daughter. They lived in Lake Mary, Florida and now reside in St. Simons, Georgia.
The Zach Johnson Foundation is dedicated to helping children and their families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One program created by Johnson and his wife Kim helped to raise $700,000 for community agencies serving children in need. He has stated: "This Foundation will fulfill a dream of mine and Kim's to give back to Cedar Rapids in a long-lasting, meaningful way."
Awards and honors
In 2003, Johnson earned the Nationwide Tour's money list title
In 2003, Johnson earned the Nationwide Tour's Player of the Year honors
In 2020, Johnson won the Payne Stewart Award.
Professional wins (31)
PGA Tour wins (12)
PGA Tour playoff record (4–1)
Nationwide Tour wins (2)
Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–1)
Prairie Golf Tour wins (3)
1998 1 event
1999 2 events
Source:
Other wins (5)
Other playoff record (1–0)
PGA Tour Champions wins (5)
1Co-sanctioned by the European Senior Tour
Major championships
Wins (2)
1Defeated Leishman and Oosthuizen in a four-hole aggregate playoff: Johnson (3-3-5-4=15), Oosthuizen (3-4-5-4=16), Leishman (5-4-5-4=18)
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2017 U.S. Open – 2019 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2013 Open Championship – 2013 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Senior major championships
Results timeline
"T" indicates a tie for a place
PGA Tour career summary
* As of the 2025 season.
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
World Cup: 2005
Ryder Cup: 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 (winners), 2023 (non-playing captain)
Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2006 (winners)
Presidents Cup: 2007 (winners), 2009 (winners), 2013 (winners), 2015 (winners)