Valero Texas Open: Zach Johnson charges into share of lead

The Valero Texas Open always has the potential to turn into a shootout. On Friday, it was Zach Johnson who shot to the top of the leaderboard with a dominant round at TPC San Antonio.

The Valero Texas Open isn’t quite the shooting gallery it used to be, but don’t tell that to Zach Johnson.

The nearly century-old event became one of the more popular stops on the PGA TOUR during a 15-year run at La Cantera Golf Club. Winning scores there routinely flirted with -20. It was basically golf’s equivalent of a Home Run Derby.

By comparison, since the move to TPC San Antonio in 2010, scoring has been almost, well…normal. The one similarity between the two courses? Well, for the moment at least, it’s the fact that Zach Johnson’s name sits atop the leaderboard.

Johnson, who won two of his 12 TOUR titles at La Cantera, channeled a little bit of that energy on Friday at the Valero. After a tough opener on Thursday that saw him shoot a middling two-under round of 70, the 42-year-old was nearly flawless in his second round.

Beginning play on the back nine, Johnson went out in five-under 31, including a streak of four in a row from the 12th through the 15th. He hit eight of 14 fairways for the second day in a row, but he was far more accurate on approach. Hitting 15 greens – up from 11 on Thursday – Johnson gave himself plenty of chances to score. And score he did.

Johnson finding his groove again at Valero

Zach Johnson probably wishes that the Valero Texas Open had never left the friendly confines of La Cantera. Of course, if things keep up the way they did Friday, he may have a new favorite “home away from home”.

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According to Mike McAllister of PGATour.com, it did take Johnson plenty of time to adjust to a new setup in the Lone Star State. He actually played so badly in his first go-round at TPC San Antonio, he skipped the Valero Texas Open for three straight years. It took him hearing about “softening, changes and massaging” done to the course to even get him to think about coming back.

Since his return in 2014, Johnson has made three of four cuts, with a T-6 finish in 2014, and a T-20 in ’15. He missed the cut here last year, but that’s looking more and more like a one-off than a return to his original struggles in South Texas.

Nobody will ever confuse ZJ for one of today’s powerhouse young guns, but they don’t need to. Johnson is handling his business this week in basically the same way he did when he won the Masters back in 2007. When he’s on his form – placing the ball perfectly in the fairway and executing on tight approach shots – he can more than hang with the best fields in golf.

Next: The Valero Texas Open is one of the PGA TOUR's most historic events

Johnson is proving to be a force that the remaining players in San Antonio will have to reckon with this weekend. He’s won in Texas four times in his career. At this pace, number five may be just a couple days away.

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