Move over Phil Mickelson, take a seat Tiger Woods, looks like you two aren’t the only people this fine 2009 to successfully defend their championships from last year. That’s right, Zach Johnson battled it out, took it to a playoff and still managed to come out on top in San Antonio.
Goydos Fell Apart At The End
While at the start of play, Paul Goydos was only two strokes off the lead, a poor finish on his closing holes proved his undoing and knocked him directly out of contenion. James Driscoll, however, nearly completed the greatest comeback in the history of the Texas Open, and considering the fact it’s been one of the longest running PGA events, that’s saying something. That’s right, since 1922 no one has had as big of a comeback as Driscoll and after he finished play today, he had to wait an hour for Zach Johnson to finish his round and determine his fate.
One Hole Playoff Determines Victor
So a playoff it was, and it only took one hole for Johnson to do away with Driscoll and successfully defend his title as Champion of the Valero Texas Open. Two years running he’s holding the trophy, that’s got to feel good. What’s got to feel even better, however, is this victory also catapulted him to the top of the Fed-Ex Cup Rankings right past Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson. Johnson also joins those two men as the only other golfers this season to win two times; Johnson winning the Sony Open back in January.
Season Is Heating Up!
So congratulations go out to Zach Johnson for his victory, but also to Driscoll who played extremely well and nearly pulled off a comeback of monumental proportions. The bottom line is, on the PGA Tour and in the Fed-Ex rankings, things are getting interesting and looks like they will only continue to do so until some of golf’s bigger names start doing more than just showing up to tournaments.
(image via Mike Ehrmann/SI)
