Under the radar: Defending champ gets no respect
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Zach Johnson and Tiger Woods shared the putting green near Augusta National Golf Club’s first tee as noon approached Wednesday.
Cameras clicked as fans, six deep, watched. Their target was obvious.
“Get one of him, too,” a father told his son, pointing to Johnson. “He’s the defending champion.”
Johnson, an Iowa native, starts defense of his Masters golf title today. He’s done so by setting a standard for flying under golf’s radar – in an event watched by an estimated 41.4 million television viewers during last year’s tournament.
“I’m trying to think of someone to compare him with,” said Dan Jenkins, noted author and Golf Digest columnist covering his 58th Masters. “Maybe Zach would be it. It’s tough to find somebody else.”
Tiger Woods’ dominance this season and his quest to win all four major championships – the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA – in the same season have been the dominant storyline heading into this week.
So dominant that Woods is even-money to win this week in some betting circles.
“Isn’t that wild?” Golf World columnist Bob Verdi said. “I know he’s great, but this is bizarre.”
Welcome to the Woods era.
“We’re not talking about who is going to win the Masters this year,” said Gary Van Sickle of Sports Illustrated. “We’re talking about who is going to win the Grand Slam. It’s already been conceded, apparently.”
Johnson has played second fiddle to Woods for weeks leading up to the season’s first major.
“He might have to reintroduce himself again,” Verdi said. ” ‘I’m still Zach Johnson from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.’ “
If the lack of buzz bothers Johnson, he’s not showing it.
“As far as Tiger and being under the radar as defending champion, I’m used to it,” Johnson said. “I actually like it. Once again, I’m not supposed to win. The pressure might be a little different than last year. But why should it be?”
Johnson’s father, David Johnson, isn’t so diplomatic. He’s seen all the CBS-TV Masters promos for weeks, featuring Woods, a good bit of Phil Mickelson, even some Arnold Palmer and a paucity of Zach Johnson.
“Who did win last year?” the elder Johnson said. “It was either Tiger or Phil. Maybe Arnie. I got a little tired of it. It just shows you how powerful the media is, and obviously Tiger drives the golf end of it.”
This is not new territory for Iowa’s top golf story.
After Johnson won last year, Sports Illustrated’s cover photo a week later was a shot of Woods breaking his 4-iron while trying to negotiate a shot around a pine tree.
CBS, which will air a highlights show today and Friday and provide coverage of the final two rounds on the weekend, has no feature planned on Johnson.
The Golf Channel did produce a feature on Johnson. ESPN, which has rights to the first two rounds, ran a Johnson feature on Wednesday.
Mike Tirico, ESPN’s lead commentator at the Masters this week, said Johnson’s personality fits his under-the-radar tag this week.
“And he’s very comfortable with it, which is neat,” Tirico said. “There’s no superstar quality to him. He’s an everyday, regular guy.”
David Johnson will never forget the 2007 Masters – no matter how far under the radar his son flies.
“You can’t take anything away from the kid,” he said. “I can still turn on that DVD and watch it any day of the week, and feel pretty good about it.”