Zach Johnson broke away from the pack to post a four-shot win in his home state, capturing the Principal Charity Classic title on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Playing his first season on the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions, Johnson prevailed in his first start at Des Moines’ Wakonda Club as he followed Saturday’s round of 63 with a 5-under-par 67 to reach 17-under 199 for the week.
Richard Green of Australia (68) and Retief Goosen of South Africa (70) tied for second at 13 under.
Asked which emotions he was feeling after the win, Johnson answered, “Pure gratitude.”
“Given this week and all that it entails being back home, then literally in a place I used to live, I felt like I had already won before I teed off,” said Johnson, who attended Drake University in Des Moines and grew up two hours away in Cedar Rapids. “That honestly gave me a lot of freedom to just play. Hard to really encompass all the emotions in that regard, but a lot of peace. Like I said, a lot of gratitude, but excitement, too. This is why I play, I love competition.”
A co-leader with Brett Quigley and Australian Scott Hend entering the final round, Johnson shook off an opening bogey to roll in three birdies on the front nine. He went birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie at Nos. 12-15 to build a two-shot advantage.
After saving par at No. 16 and missing a birdie try at the par-3 17th, Johnson hit his tee shot at the short par-4 18th into a greenside bunker. But he finished with a flourish by playing a stellar second shot onto the green and sinking the ensuing birdie look.
“Today was a hard day. Today was trying,” said Johnson, who secured his second PGA Tour Champions victory. “Completely different wind for the most part, completely different wind. Not 180, but close. So managing your golf ball, your trajectory was imperative. For the most part I did that, I hit a lot of nice shots today. Feel like you left some out there, but I hit some good putts that didn’t go in, I hit some good putts that went in.
“It was course management and that’s usually where I flourish.”
Green put up the toughest challenge. He took the outright lead at the par-5 15th when he made his seventh birdie of the day, which moved him to 15 under while Johnson was three holes behind. But Green proceeded to bogey the next two holes.
“There was some good stuff. Just got a bit challenging towards the end for me, really,” Green said. “I had a really long putt for birdie on 16 and left it short and three-putted from just off the green, yeah, so that was a difficult hole. Then I made sort of a mess of 17 really as well into the wind, that probably cost me in the end.”
Quigley settled for an even-par 72 and tied for fourth at 12 under with Australian David Bransdon (71). Hend imploded almost immediately with back-to-back bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey during the first six holes. He posted a 5-over 77 to drop into a share of 22nd place at 7 under, 10 off Johnson’s winning score.
