When David Duval scaled the heady heights of world No1 and major championship success the wider perception was of a closed or distant character. The theory resonated in Duval’s dark sunglasses, which seemed to detach him from the watching world. Eye contact? No thanks.
Zach Johnson is susceptible to the same comment. His choice of eyewear is identical to Duval. The defending Open champion could probably walk along most UK high streets without being recognised, let alone pestered by selfie-gatherers. Whereas Tiger Woods was the marquee figure of Duval’s time, Johnson’s star is outshone by Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and others.
There is, however, more to Johnson than he is given credit for, personally and professionally. He is perfectly engaging in conversation, for starters. Football, unbeknown to most, was an early love. “I played from the age of three to 18,” he says. “I was a striker. I had a good left foot for a rightie. I was the set-play guy; corner-kicks and free-kicks.”
Johnson laughs at a Lionel Messi comparison. In the sport he has gone on to achieve such fantastic success in – a St Andrews Open win and Masters title represent the stuff of fairytale – there is a more serious side to the 40-year-old. He knows all too well that his public status does not match others’.
“The moment I get caught up in the fact that I have already got a Claret Jug and a Green Jacket is the moment I will get chewed up and spat out,” insists the world No18. “I’ve got to keep at it, keep trying to get better, not get too content.
“For me, last year’s win validates that I know what I’m doing and it validates the team I have assembled. It validates how I operate and how I work. You don’t fully understand the gravity of that Claret Jug or the weight of the tournament until you possess it.”
Johnson possibly did not receive the credit he was due for the Masters triumph of 2007. Freakishly cold Georgia conditions supposedly offset the scale of his achievement. A year ago in Fife, there could be no asterisk attached to victory; Johnson emerged from a play-off having scored a closing round of 66.
“Prior to the Open and over the years I have been recognised as a gritty player,” he says. “I get that. I think that just means I am not very long and I just get the ball in the hole. I can fully embrace being a gritty player, that’s fine. I can also call it boring style of golf but boring works and it will always continue to work. It never quits.
“Everybody talks about ‘This guy’s got so much talent’ or ‘He is more talented than the next because he hits it far and he is straight and he is athletic.’ Yeah, I get that. There is physical talent and there is also a mental talent and fortitude and working on your mental side. That is something I strive to get better at. I think that is something I have always relished; I think I can withstand the difficult tests and take them for what they are. Some guys fold, some guys falter.
“I’m not suggesting all do, because some guys are better than me but I love being in difficult situations and having to execute. In basketball terms, I want the ball. I want the last shot.
“Augusta was shock and awe. Shock in the sense that I didn’t think I was going to win that golf tournament. No one did. This was probably a good thing because it took the pressure off me. I was in awe because of what it is, the magnitude of the situation.
“I would say the Open Championship was just that – awe. I wasn’t shocked. My game is much more mature than in ’07, much more experienced, much more seasoned and I would say better, as a whole.”
Still, Johnson is not consumed by golf glory. “I know that the gift I have been given and the talent I have been given is not normal,” he explains. “I would hope that my ’07 victory has not changed me off the golf course. If anything starting a family and having three kids has been more humbling than anything I’ve achieved and changed me and moulded me more so than anything in golf. I don’t want the game of golf to define me, is the bottom line.”
There is also awareness, both of history and those who contributed to what Johnson achieved a year ago. “I slept with the Claret Jug on the plane back home,” he recalls. “I fell asleep because I was exhausted and I cradled it in my arms.
“I haven’t had it in a prominent place at home. If anything, I’ve been paranoid about people looking and seeing it. I want to be cautious and don’t want to take anything lightly. I am not going to suggest anything is going to happen to it but I do want to respect it. Especially in the last seven or eight months, I bet I have had it for maybe one month. I have let my coaches and team have it. They should. Whether it’s their academy or their family, they are a part of that as far as I am concerned. The Claret Jug symbolises a victory but a team victory is the way I operate.”
In context of this week’s, the 145th Open, Johnson has another advantage over the majority of those looking to dethrone him. That is, he has competed in the tournament at Royal Troon before, back in 2004, although he failed to last beyond Friday in his Open debut.
“I actually missed my first three cuts,” Johnson says. “But I still remember falling in love with links golf immediately, because I had never experienced it.
“I’m not one to sit here saying I can now win three or four. I feel like I know what it demands. I feel that given the right, fortunate side of the tee times, yeah I think I can put myself in contention there on Sunday.”
This was typical Johnson, typical understatement. Beyond the lenses is a worthy champion and, once more, a live contender.
