U.S. Open preview: Zach Johnson

Former Masters winner Zach Johnson is having a career resurgence this year. Yes, Johnson enters off a missed cut in Memphis, but prior to that he arguably the hottest player on the PGA Tour after winning the Colonial Invitational and posting two runner-up spots in his last four starts.

Johnson entered the final round of the Colonial trailing Jason Dufner by one stroke, but a 2-over 72 (Dufner shot 74) was enough for a one-stroke victory—making him the 12th multiple winner at Colonial (also won in 2010). The tournament basically came down to a two-man competition over the final 36 holes, with a triple bogey on the par-4 15th Sunday by Dufner helping secure his second win at Colonial.

The victory (the eighth of his career) was the fourth in the state of Texas for Johnson compared to three in Georgia and one in Hawaii. It also gave him multiple wins in three tournaments (2004 and 2007 AT&T Classic and 2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open are the others).

Age: 36.

Country: United States.

World ranking: 16.

Official wins: 8.

Majors: Masters (2007).

U.S. Open highlight: Shot par in his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills.

U.S. Open lowlight: Closed with an 80 in his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills.

WagerWeb.com odds to win U.S. Open: +4000

Overview: When looking at the last two U.S. Open winners at Olympic, Johnson fits the bill. He’s a very good driver, though not terribly long, has control of his irons and putts very well. Tiger Woods once claimed Johnson was among the best putters. Johnson’s response that he’s only seen on TV when he’s in contention, and he’s only in contention when he’s putting well. A winner at Colonial, this could be an Open when he finally shows himself.

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