When he still had eight holes left to play Sunday at the AT&T Classic and was one shot out of the lead, I was convinced Zach Johnson would win the tournament.
That's not said to boast. It's said because Johnson was playing very well and with confidence. The player ahead of him, meanwhile, had never been in the lead on the back nine on Sunday on the PGA Tour. Ryuji Imada is a fine young player who Johnson said will do great things on the Tour. Just not Sunday.
Imada blinked in the playoff and Johnson did not. Thus, the Masters champion is now a two-time winner this year. Were the season to end today, the Tour's Player of the Year would be Tiger Woods. But only by a hair over Johnson and Phil Mickelson. Woods has three wins, and a tie for second in the Masters. Johnson has two wins, like Mickelson and Vijay Singh, but Johnson's won a major.
Johnson, in no small part from playing well under grueling pressure at the Ryder Cup last September and then winning at Augusta six weeks ago, now has hit a higher level in his sport. He has the confidence and comfort of knowing he can cope when in contention for a championship. It makes a huge difference in his or any other sport.
He has never lacked for confidence. It, along with a lot of talent, is why he won several times on the Hooters Tour. It's a big reason he was the 2003 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year, and it was a factor in him winning the BellSouth (now AT&T) Classic as a PGA Tour rookie in '04. It's why he played so well in Ireland last year at the Ryder Cup when many of his U.S. teammates faltered.
But it's one thing to be confident, talented, and able to handle pressure. It's another to be a consistent threat to win. Which he is now. Lots of players win tournaments in the course of a PGA Tour season. Not many win more than one. This year so far, the group consists of Woods, Mickelson, Singh and Johnson. The first three are the top three ranked players in the world. The fourth guy may not be all that far from deserving to be listed in the world's best foursome.