Zach Johnson at PGA Championship

[Fairway_CY]

One of my buddies had 2 extra tickets to Monday's practice round at the PGA Championship and asked if I'd be interested in them.  I'd never been to a professional golf event of any kind, so... I jumped at the chance.  Because kids were free, my wife and I took our 3 kids with us as well.  

My daughters both started playing this year and enjoyed their time on the PGA Junior League team at our club.  They were excited to go and watch real golfers play, too.  More than that, however, they were excited about getting autographs.  

We spent a good deal of time camped out to the left of the 9th green.  My kids stood in the line where the players were exiting and asked for autographs while my wife and I sat about 25 yards away in the shade of a tree parallel to where the pin was cut.  

Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker were playing together that day, and as they approached... Zach hit a shot in the left rough, probably 30 feet from where we were sitting.  After he chipped on, he left himself about a 12 footer, slick and down a slight hill.  His par putt just missed the lip.  He had 3 PGA Junior children walking with him and one of them heckled him over missing the putt.  

Zach called the kid (maybe 10 or 11 years old) onto the green and told him, "Okay big-shot... you give it a go.  If you make it, I do 10 push-ups.  If I miss it, all 3 of you do 5 push-ups!"

Cool as ice, the kid grabbed his putter and lined up.  Zach got down to help him line up the putt and the kid waived him off, telling him he didn't need his help.  Zach playfully got up and threw his hands in the air.  The kid slammed the ball into the back of the cup.  When it dropped, the crowd around the 9th hole went wild.  Zack dropped down on the 9th green and did his push-ups while the crowd counted them off.  

It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  He then spent 30 minutes walking BOTH SIDES of the autograph line signing every request before he left the area.  

I always liked Zach... but this pushed him to the top of the list when it comes to PGA golfers I admire.  

CY

[David in FL]

Very cool!

[ChrisP]

I met Zach at Pebble at the 2010 US Open. Very humble and classy guy. Definitely up there among guys I respect and admire a lot.

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, Fairway_CY said:

My daughters both started playing this year and enjoyed their time on the PGA Junior League team at our club.  They were excited to go and watch real golfers play, too.  

Someone should tell them you're a real golfer.

Cool story about Zach Johnson though.

[Chris223]

I have also always been a fan of his, he seems like an all around good guy.  I've also always appreciated the fact that he plays a fair amount of tournaments most of the "big names" don't play and yet I consider him to be a pretty big name on tour (the dude does have two majors and like 13 wins).  Very cool story.