News >> PGA Star Zach Johnson Recalls Ocala Experience

The Ocala Marion Sports Commission Classic
Golden Hills Golf And Turf Club
March 1-7, 2010
 
Zach Johnson was just another nameless golfer in a field full of them when the Hooters Tour last made a stop in Ocala.
 
“I had no idea where golf would take me,” recalled Johnson, who came to town nine years ago with a resume that included being the No. 2 golfer on his team at Drake (Iowa) University and one fruitless season on the Nationwide Tour.
 
Golf, it turns out, would take Johnson to the top of the world. Still only 34, Johnson is now the proud owner of six career PGA wins, more than $17 million in earnings, and one life-changing green jacket.
 
But when Johnson arrived at the Country Club of Silver Springs Shores for a hot, windy week in August of 2001, he was just another anonymous young golfer on the grind.
 
That was exactly when things began to change, though, and they changed quickly.
 
Johnson torched the field that week at the Shores. He took a seven-stroke lead into Sunday and never looked back for his breakthrough professional win.
 
“Up until Ocala, I had a number of good finishes but just couldn't crack a win,” Johnson said. “So, winning my first NGA Hooters event in Ocala was a great confidence boost.”
 
What Johnson also gained that week was “the realization that I was a pretty good player,” he said.
He put that newfound mental edge to work in a hurry.
 
Johnson won the next two Hooters events for an improbable surge to the money title in the final month of the season. He won again on the Hooters Tour the following season, then in 2003 became the Nationwide's money leader with nearly $500,000 in earnings — which earned him a spot on the PGA Tour.
 
This article by sports writer Andy Marks appeared in the Sunday edition of The Ocala Star Banner. To read more click here