PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – It was not the finish Zach Johnson would have opted for, two bogeys over his final four holes, but after the season he’s had he will gladly take his second-round 71 at The Players.
In 2013, Johnson doesn’t have a single top-10 finish and his tie for 18th at the limited-field Hyundai Tournament of Champions is his best showing. It’s why his miscues at Nos. 5 and 7 (he started on No. 10) weren’t cause for concern considering he ended the day tied for ninth and just four strokes out of the lead.
“I really only hit two bad shots and I escaped on one and then didn’t with the other,” Johnson said. “(But) as the day went on it got harder.”
Johnson said the issues this year have been with his driver, which has historically been the second-best club in his bag behind his putter. The problem has been with his set-up and standing too far away from the ball.
His driving accuracy has dropped nearly 4 percentage points this season since last year (64.43 percent in 2013 compared to 68.53 percent last season), but he has seen signs of improvement in recent weeks.
“The best part has been my attitude,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of good Thursday and Friday rounds and then struggled on the weekend, but I haven’t gotten down on myself.”