Rookie Johnson Keeps His Head

Zach Johnson coasted through 10 holes before the trouble started. After getting five birdies earlier, simply making par was difficult.

Four bogeys in five holes, and suddenly, his five-shot lead was down to two.

“I was just trying to make pars,” he said. “There is a danger in that, but on this golf course, par is a good score.”

The PGA Tour rookie righted himself in time and held on to win the BellSouth Classic on Sunday despite that rough stretch on the back nine. He shot an even-par 72 to edge Mark Hensby by a stroke.

“It was a roller coaster,” Johnson said after his first Tour victory. “I don’t even know what I shot.”

He finished at 13-under 275 on the TPC at Sugarloaf. Hensby closed with a 67, Scott Hend (71) followed at 11 under, and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (72) was another stroke back.

Johnson, the player of the year on the developmental Nationwide Tour last season, appeared in control after a birdie on the par-five 10th gave him a five-shot lead.

At that point, he had made all 55 of his putts in the tournament from inside nine feet. But he three-putted for bogey on the next two holes, then made consecutive bogeys on 14 and 15.

“If you’re in the lead by a shot or four or five shots, you’ve still got an advantage,” Johnson said. “I just tried not to put pressure on myself.”

Good advice. He steadied himself with routine pars at 16 and 17, then capped his victory with another at 18.

When the final putt fell, Johnson’s wife, Kimala, ran to the green and gave him a long hug. She soon was joined by Zach’s father, Dave.

“We didn’t think it would happen this fast,” Dave Johnson said. “It’s just progressed so much this year, he’s gotten better and better.”

The gallery also included several men from near Johnson’s hometown of Des Moines who gave him financial support early in his career. Their agreement ended after last season, but the bond between them is still close.

Hensby made it interesting with a two-putt birdie on the par-five finishing hole, then waited for Johnson to falter again. This time, Johnson held on.

“You’re out here to win,” Hensby said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating because I felt like I really didn’t putt that great this week. When you miss by one shot, it’s frustrating.”

Harrington came up short in his bid for his first victory on the PGA Tour. On Sunday, he got off to a bad start with bogeys on the first two holes, then made a double on No. 3.

Another double followed a birdie, and then he eagled the par-five sixth. Harrington kept it going through the middle of his round, making three birdies in a row at one point, but he made a bogey on No. 16 to end his run at the top of the leaderboard.

“It was very windy, hard to judge,” Harrington said. “I hit it to places where it’s tough to get it up and down. Probably after the bad start, I just played too aggressively.”

For Hend, a rookie like Johnson, it was the first time in six starts that he had made the cut.

“I was a little jumpy at the start, but I settled down,” Hend said. “You make your first cut and finish in the top five, it’s just awesome.”