There is no more bunk concept in sports that someone has to “validate” their championship victory with another victory “or else it’s a fluke” (as one sportswriter put it.)
Zach Johnson is a great case right on point. Writers upset that he got in the way of their Tiger worship (“easiest article in all golf” said one venerable writer), somehow tried to convince the public Zach Johnson had to somehow “validate” his win at the Masters.
Well news flash people – Zach was on the Ryder Cup team. By your convoluted logic, his win at the Masters validates his Ryder Cup team appearance, so no further validation was necessary, but if you need it – Zach won again this weekend.
Anybody still think it was a fluke or that he was a flash in the pan? In a fourteen month period, three wins, one major and a Ryder Cup appearance. Looks like a keeper to me.
Nice piece Jay. I tried to post a comment the other day but Word Press would not/could not recognize me. I posted it on our blog instead.
Steve Campbell has a great interview with Johnson in the Houston Chronicle, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4824372.html,
where Zach describes a new found mental toughness and maturity: “I’ve got a circle, if you will, every shot,” Johnson said. “Starts with making my decision, then it goes into my routine, then it goes into the execution of the shot. I accept where it goes. I relax and go to the next shot. I just do it every shot.
“It just keeps things a lot more simple for me. It has polished up my mental attack every day. I feel like if I’m swinging bad, I can still get it around when I need to.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Zach is the real deal. He knows how to win. Nice work.
Thanks. Here…have this Zach piece too then.
http://jayflemma.thegolfspace.com/?p=555