Just teeing it up in front of his home crowd at the John Deere Classic, regardless of what happens on the leaderboard by Sunday, already feels like a win for Zach Johnson.

"Meaning the outcome of my week from a golf standpoint, professionally speaking, just is irrelevant almost. I don't know if it's everything's icing on the cake, but you could maybe say it's kind of that way, as well," Johnson said during his post-round press conference at TPC Deere Run.

Johnson grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, roughly 90 miles from the Quad Cities, and spent part of his infancy living in nearby Davenport.

Plus, he served as a player ambassador for the tournament from 2002 to 2003, back when he had no PGA Tour status and only got into the field on sponsor exemptions.

"I just love being here, you know, and I'm comfortable obviously, so my score card — I know that's an ingredient this week, but it's not everything. I can't stress it enough. I'm just appreciative of having a partnership with John Deere and feeling like a long, long distance son to this area," the 2x Major Champion added during the same press conference, as per ASAP Sport transcription.

"Technically, I lived in Davenport when I was an infant. A lot of affinity, a lot of affection, and you know what, it really starts and ends with the people. So I'm very honored and grateful."

This is the reason Johnson skipped the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club to be in Silvis, choosing the event he won 14 years ago and has long called his 'fifth major' over an actual senior major championship.

And despite being fully exempt into the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in two weeks, he's skipping that too, along with the Senior British Open at Gleneagles.

"I can't play four weeks in a row," he said. "I'm missing the U.S. Senior Open this week. Next week is a major, and then the Senior Open is a major."

But the Scorecard Tells a Different Story

Johnson can say the scorecard does not matter. But he has played one of the best rounds of his life at TPC Deere Run.

He started fast, making birdie on the very first hole and followed that with two more birdies on the front nine. The only mistake came at the ninth, where he made his lone bogey.

But after the turn, he caught fire. A birdie on the 10th got him right back on track. Another birdie dropped on the 14th. Then came the moment of the day.

On the par-5 17th hole, Johnson holed a long eagle putt from off the green. He finished the day with another birdie on No. 18. He finished the round in a three-way tie for third place—just one stroke behind co-leaders Lucas Glover and Zac Blair.

Most importantly, he did all of that in a tough day. The temperature was in the upper 90s Fahrenheit.

“I struggle immensely in heat,” Johnson told reporters. “I have a protocol that I have to stick to before the week starts — in the evenings and obviously during the course of the round, honestly, just to survive. ... Just to have the energy to compete for 18 holes was a feat for me today."

But none of that matters much for the 2012 Champion at TPC Deere Run. Thursday's round pushed his career total at the course to 247 strokes under par across 24 appearances.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas