Golf Blog: Zach Johnson's Year?

Golf Blog: Zach Johnson's Year?

Zach Johnson is not the most exciting character, at least not publicly.

He doesn't launch the ball 330 yards, he doesn't have a famous girlfriend, a pretty swing or a Technicolor wardrobe.

But what he does have is a stellar golf game combined with a killer instinct which is now making the golfing world sit up and take real notice.

Let's be clear he is not an unknown.

The 2007 Masters Champion also has 11 Tour victories under his belt, so the obvious question is what's got people talking about the 37 year old now?

The answer is wins, cut throat wins. Three in six starts.

It's a formidable run of form and one that has been characterised by his steely determination to win.

The most recent win came at last weeks Tournament of Champions in Hawaii where he finished with four birdies in the last five holes to take the title by one shot, from a chasing pack made up of five world class golfers.

And his victory at the North Western Mutual Open at the end of last year was the result of the Iowa native chipping in from the drop zone to force a playoff against host Tiger Woods.

Ever since the weekend, the media has been buzzing with debate about how underrated Johnson is.

But, I think it's not that he's underrated, he's just understated. His surgeon like precision with a wedge and the methodical way in which he picks apart a golf course is not the most romantic way to play, but it certainly has fields worried.

And I think if you asked his colleagues on Tour they would testify to his quality.   

But, whether underrated or understated, he is firmly in the golf world's consciousness now and everyone is excited about his 2014.

 Follow Nicholas Gamble on Twitter @NMGamble