Iowan Wins the Masters

It was a proud day to be an Iowan on Sunday. Iowan Zach Johnson held off Tiger Woods to win the 2007 Masters. Not that everyday I am not proud to be an Iowan, but this was just an extra special day. The best part of the story is that Johnson seems to be a nice, humble guy. It is so refreshing to see this is professional sports. Below is an excerpt from an article about his victory.

DES MOINES (AP) — When asked to describe himself shortly after his Masters victory Sunday, Zach Johnson said, "I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That's about it. I'm a normal guy."
That helped steal the heart of the state.

It was beaming like a proud parent Monday.

"He's like an Iowa kid. Kind of naive, very humble, and just a cool guy," said Ryan Hartman, Johnson's former teammate at Drake University in Des Moines and one of his closest friends. "My wife, who is a big city girl, said it best. She said that he is the nicest, most genuine person she's ever met."

What makes Johnson's victory all the more remarkable to those who know him best is that he hardly looked like Masters material growing up in eastern Iowa. Johnson was so small as a youngster that he joined the junior program at his parents' golf club, Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, four years after many of the boys had started playing. more....