Zach Johnson, savoring the moment at 49

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Zach Johnson is the old lion in the 54th John Deere Classic field this week.

It’s a position he’s become accustomed to.

“I think I’ve been the oldest guy in the field every week this year, except one week when Padraig Herrington played, and at Augusta,” Johnson said Wednesday.

Johnson is 49. He’ll be 50 in February, instantly eligible for the senior circuit. Once upon a time, he was one of the Young Turks in any field, the kid from Cedar Rapids who wasn’t expected to make it, and made it big. A Masters triumph. A British Open championship. And, in 2012, capturing the Deere, the tournament closest to his heart, in a playoff with Troy Matteson.

“I did a thing with John Deere last night at headquarters,” said Johnson, a member of the tournament’s board of directors. “Felt like I was rubbing shoulders, shaking hands with friends I’ve known forever and in a lot of respects that’s true.”

Johnson’s game is up and down these days, which is to be expected. He played last week for the first time in six weeks, made the cut in Detroit and finished in a tie for 82nd. His best finish of the year was a tie for eighth at the Masters. He picked up the bulk of his Tour points there and enters the Deere 103rd in the standings.

In previous years, that would have been a comfortable spot in which to retain his PGA Tour playing privileges for next year. But the Tour is handing out only 100 cards next season, down from 125, so he has his work cut out to continue to be guaranteed to mingle with the youngsters in 2026.

“I hope I have the option of coming back here for the foreseeable future,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what the future will hold. A lot of what is going to transpire next year is going to be determined by the next so many odd weeks out here.

“Let’s just say if I can keep coming back here and playing – I’m not going to come back necessarily just to play, I want to come back here to compete. But I can’t hide the fact I have a high affinity for John Deere and the people. That goes without saying.”

With all that, he’s not a favorite this week. His stretch of five straight top-5 finishes, punctuated by the 2012 victory and built on 29 straight sub-70 rounds, is in the past. But this, his 23rd straight start in the Deere, offers opportunity.

“I don’t take that for granted,” Johnson said. “It’s amazing. I love every aspect of this, starting with the people and ending with the golf.”

The field is one of the best in tournament history, a product of the signature tournaments on the tour forcing other players to seek starts where they might not have otherwise in the past, and an awareness that Deere really treats its players well. Plus, Johnson’s talked up the tournament for years.

It’s difficult to pick a favorite, but the Deere’s history of creating first-time Tour winners – 24 of them, including defender Davis Thompson – augurs well for another, or at least from someone of the younger set.

Around Deere Run

Scott Piercy replaced Vince Covello in the field on Wednesday morning. … Tee times begin at 6:45 a.m. with threesomes off the first and 10th tees, with Trey Mullinax first off No. 1 and Kevin Kisner opening the show on No. 10. … Jackson Koivun is among three amateurs, all on this year’s American Walker Cup team, in the field.

– Tim Cronin