Former U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Begins New Chapter on PGA Tour Champions

Zach Johnson told Sports Illustrated that his game suffered during his Ryder Cup captaincy, but he'll now be the youngest member on the 50-and-over circuit.

Zach Johnson will make his PGA Tour Champions debut next week. | Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

 Here’s a fun trivia question that might not always see Zach Johnson’s name at the forefront: he’s one of just six players to win the Masters and a British Open at St. Andrews.

Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods are the others.

That’s some pretty nice company.

“Knowing what I know now, if I could pick two different venues to win on, those would be the two I’d pick,” Johnson said.

The 12-time PGA Tour winner was reflecting on some of his accomplishments—and struggles—recently as the calendar turned to his 50th birthday.

The 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain turned 50 on Feb. 24 and won’t waste any time diving into senior golf, as he is set to make his PGA Tour Champions debut at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla. He’s also got upcoming tournaments in Tucson, Ariz., and Long Beach, Calif., prior to the Masters.

“I’m embracing it,” he said. “And I’m excited about it.”

Johnson has not been as excited about his own game in recent years, and not for a lack of trying. He ran into some injury issues, his Ryder Cup captaincy took up considerable time, and he saw the ever-increasing competitive landscape.

Over the past two years, he’s posted just a single top-10—a tie for eighth last year at the Masters.

“When I first got on Tour, there were a bunch of 42- to 50-year-olds playing and winning,” Johnson said. “Now it just doesn’t exist. There’s an occasional example but very few and far between. It’s just harder for whatever reason. Youth of the game. Distance required at times. There’s been a lot of positives the last three or four years and I certainly I got better in a lot of areas of my game.

“[But] the two years of my captaincy [2022-23] was really difficult for me. I didn’t play well. I think Keegan [Bradley, who was the 2025 captain] did a really amazing job with his game. It was harder for me to compete. I didn’t play well. It was difficult for me to play at a high level and be fully in with my responsibilities, and since that time there have been little strides in my game. And if I want to compete, I’ve got to really put in the work with my body. Because the game will beat you up.”

Johnson plans to still play a few regular PGA Tour events, including the John Deere Classic—where he’s had a longtime relationship—and the season-ending RSM Classic, near his home.

He’s reluctant to ask for sponsor invites anywhere else because “I know how hard these spots are to come by now and I appreciate when I got them early in my career.”

How Johnson won one of the most difficult Masters in history

Johnson’s 289 winning total at the 2007 Masters remains the last time the winner shot over par and matches the highest winning score in history, shot only two other times.

Such was the weather that week at August National that Johnson shot a third-round 76 and moved up on the leaderboard.

Then he had to worry about a guy named Tiger Woods during the final round. Johnson stuck to a plan to not go for any par-5s in two and played them in 11 under for the week. He birdied three of the last six holes in the last round and won by two shots over Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini.

“Ignorance is bliss with the first one,” said Johnson, who began the final round in a tie for fourth, two shots back of Stuart Appleby. “I didn’t know what I was getting into. I felt great about my game and obviously it wasn’t easy and it was an awful weather week.

“I was in the third-to-last group and Tiger is supposed to win, so all of the pressure is off me. I was sort of strolling in the park, ignorance. It wasn’t really on my mind. It was a hard week. I think that Sunday it maybe got to 60 degrees and Saturday was one of the worst days ever, cold and windy. I shot 76, played with Vijay [Singh] who shot 81, and still moved up. It was crazy.”

Zach Johnson finished in the top 10 last year at Augusta at age 49. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Open at St. Andrews, Johnson said, was different. By then he had 11 PGA Tour victories. He had won seven times since the Masters victory and was coming off a close call the week prior at the John Deere Classic.

“That was probably harder,” he said. “Ignorance wasn’t bliss.”

There, Johnson prevailed in a four-hole playoff over Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.

“It’s storybook,” he said. “I didn’t get that far in my dreams. I look at it with complete gratitude. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s the truth. I still pinch myself. I don’t take it for granted.”

Now comes a new chapter.

Johnson said he’s looking forward to using a golf cart occasionally, especially in pro-ams. He’s looking forward to smaller fields and no cuts. He’s looking forward to reuniting with many friends.

“I’m excited for the new horizons,” he said.