Houston Open: Why Zach Johnson will win the Masters Warm-Up Event

Looking for a winner for the Masters’ warmup event at the Houston Open this week? Look no further than Zach Johnson.

If you took a quick glance, you would’ve thought that seeing Johnson in the title, I would’ve been talking about Dustin Johnson, who is listed as the favorite to win the Houston Open. Instead, the Johnson that wins is going to be none other than Zach Johnson.

We’ve seen unexpected wins happen recently, just look at the most recent winner on Tour, Brian Gay. No one thought he would win at the Bermuda Championship. Johnson isn’t in that same category as Gay, but he definitely isn’t someone that people jump to right away when they are picking their winners.

It’s not that far out of the realm of possibility that he would have a chance to win this event. He heads to the Houston Open at the back end of the top ten, at least when it comes to odds, of those most likely to win.

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If you take a look at how he has been performing lately, then it should come as no surprise to you that he would be one of the favorites to win, even amidst a strong field. Let’s go back to the Wyndham Championship a couple of months ago to start.

After starting off with a slightly disappointing 70 in his opening round, Johnson would shoot 67-61-65, carding the best round of the tournament during his third round, and finish in a T-7th place.

So far this season, we have seen T-8th, T-23rd, and a T-19th finish from Zach Johnson in the three events that he has played. It isn’t just strong finishes, but some very consistent play over that time that has resulted in his top finishes. The U.S. Open kicked everyone’s behind, and Johnson was able to go 70-74-68-74 to finish in the top ten. Normally, 74 isn’t good. When it is at the U.S. Open, you can walk away feeling okay about your day.

His first two rounds at the Sanderson were 70-71. Since then, Johnson has shot six straight rounds in the 60’s, finishing off with a 68-69. He continued with 65-68-68-67 at the Shriners a few weeks ago.

The big question with Johnson is going to be his ability with the driver. If he can play above average, he is going to have a fantastic shot to take home the win at the Houston Open. Currently, he ranks 16th in SG through the small sample we have seen so far. It is about in line with last year though, when he finished 131st.

The strength of Johnson’s game comes in his approach shots and his putting, ranking 28th and 20th, respectively. We know that he is going to be solid here. If the driver shows up at all, Zach Johnson is going to win the event.

Next. 2020 Houston Open: Top 10 power rankings at Memorial Park. dark

There are a lot of talented golfers coming to the Houston Open. Most of them are here to tune-up for the Masters next week. Zach Johnson looks to be in fine form though and will have a great shot to earn his first win since The Open Championship in 2015, this time at the Houston Open.

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