Johnson puts heart into flood relief -- and his game

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Dec. 5, 2008
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

Zach Johnson had just gone home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a quick visit the week before Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the heartland of America.

When the floods came, though, the 2007 Masters champ was in San Diego where he had just started playing in the 108th U.S. Open. His parents, who had just flown home from California, kept him abreast of the situation.

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Zach Johnson's hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of the hardest hit areas by the floods.

Not to worry, their house was fine. His mother's office was two blocks west of the Cedar River, though, and there was at least 8 feet of water inside. But she can work out of the house, and there's now a satellite office set up at a local high school.

And it turns out, the clinic where Johnson's father works was about 2-3 feet higher than the other nearby offices. So the clinic wasn't damaged, and it was one of the first to reopen.

"My mom sent a great e-mail," Johnson said. "She's like, we're fine. For the most part all of our friends are fine. They've helped other people get stuff out of [their] offices and helped evacuate their belongings, that sort of thing. But what stinks about the whole situation is the people that really didn't have much are the ones that really got affected. I mean, you can't even put it into words.

"I think (my dad) had an employee that decided to go back when she could go back to her residence, and she walked back there with her husband or whatever, and they didn't even walk inside. They're never going to go back. What do you say to that?"

Johnson returns to competition this week at the John Deere Classic after a three-week layoff due to a bout with tendonitis in his left wrist. He serves on the board of the tournament, so competing at the TPC Deere Run is particularly important to him.

Johnson also took the opportunity to discuss the PGA TOUR Flood Relief Fund. The Monday of the Travelers Championship, he was attending a PGA TOUR Policy Board meeting in Hartford, and the idea was hatched.

Johnson knew the TOUR was involved in raising money for victims after Hurricane Katrina. So he talked about setting up something similar with Commissioner Tim Finchem and several members of his staff.

"That's what this TOUR is about," said Johnson, who has filmed a PSA on behalf of the effort. "I've said it many, many times. It's about its charities. It's about helping people. I know we're entertainment, and we play golf and chase a ball and hit it, but the TOUR gets it, and it starts with Tim and trickles down to everybody else. They get that there's more to life than what we're doing.

"It's not just me. We've got other players that are from this area that have also piqued the interest of the TOUR, namely Jerry Kelly and some of the guys in Wisconsin. It's not just Iowa, but obviously Iowa got hit the hardest.

"I'm very, very happy for what the TOUR has done and excited to see how much we can really help make a difference."

The recent wrist injury was the latest setback in a season that hasn't gone as Johnson had hoped. He currently ranks 108th in the FedExCup standings and on the money list. The three-time TOUR winner has only had one top-10 finish all year.

Johnson's a patient man, though. He's confident the things he's working on will get him back to the upper echelon. He also looks to his fellow Iowans for inspiration.

"Sometimes you play really, really poorly, and that's the best thing that can happen to you because you learn from it," Johnson said. "You mentioned the floods being a distraction. Certainly it's a distraction, but from what I've witnessed and what I've heard, the people that really went through that, or part of it, they're the ones working hard and they're trying to get things back to normal.

"You've got to put the past behind you and stick with the present. You've just got to fight through stuff. That's basically what life is about. Not to get too sentimental, but I'm proud to be where I'm from because of that.

"I've heard stories about people not waiting around for help. Relative to my job, I'm not going to wait for someone to tell me or give me the answer to something. I'm going to go play golf. That's the best thing I can do for myself, certainly for my fans and certainly for my family. I'm glad to be playing again."