Patience is key for Johnson, especially off the course

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SAN ANTONIO -- The idea of 25 feet of water rushing through downtown Cedar Rapids?

Mind boggling.

So was the island it created -- five blocks by six blocks -- where his father's clinic still stands. His mother's office? Destroyed.

Zach Johnson shook his head.

"I'm from Iowa,'' he said. "Nothing ever usually happens there.''

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Zach Johnson is in position to record his best finish of the season.

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Yet it did. The damage in his hometown alone is estimated at $2 billion in a town of less than 200,000. And yes, it's still bad. Which is why during this time of hurricanes, wars, an acrimonious election and an economic tsunami, he threw a fund raiser a few weeks ago and raised $350,000 and kept the awareness going.

He knows it will takes years. And years of patience. But that, he said, is why they're still fighting.

Johnson understands. A year ago, he slipped on the Green Jacket and joined the club -- the major club. Then he won his second AT&T Classic. Finished second to Tiger Woods at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, too.

But following up a season like that? It's kind of like what he's about to do Sunday -- try to follow up a 62 with another low number. Or at least a number low enough.

"I intend on doing it tomorrow, but as a whole it's hard to do that,'' he said.

Johnson goes into the final round at his first Valero Texas Open one shot behind Texas resident Rory Sabbatini, who's in the clubhouse at 14-under-par 196 after a third-round 63, and with a chance to turn a so-so 2008 into a great jumpstart for 2009.

Had he not let birdies at 16 and 17 -- from 8 and 13 feet -- slip away, it might have been... But we digress. The point here is even with just one top 10 on the year -- a tie for ninth at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship -- Johnson has still seen progress.

He's learned how to say no to the media demands that come with majors. Same goes for sponsors who would love to have him join their fields. And his game? He's learned even more patience than he had coming into Augusta a year ago.

And San Antonio? He chose to play here after a seven-week break -- some imposed since he didn't make the final three FedExCup events or the Ryder Cup and some not -- because of the premium on hitting fairways. He ranks sixth on TOUR in fairways hit and his game is similar to Justin Leonard's. And Leonard has won here three times.

"We don't overpower golf courses,'' Johnson said. "We try to rely on our wedges and putter and go from there.''

So far, so good. He hit all but one fairway Saturday and 34 of 42 for the week. It translates to an opening 69, followed by a 66, then the 62.

"Today just more putts fell which was nice to see,'' said Johnson, who jumped out fast with birdies on the first two holes. "But I'm hitting it great. I'm hitting a lot of fairways. I knew that.

"And then, you know, I'm getting the ball on the right side of the green to give myself an opportunity. I had plenty of opportunities out there. I'm not complaining. I'm encouraged.''

At this point, he wants a little momentum. And, well, a win would be nice. He's been working on his swing with coach Mike Bender and it's coming together.

"I haven't been playing that well and now I'm kind of going back to where I kind of was a few years ago as far as my fundamentals go and today is just one day,'' Johnson said. "The last two days, I putted pretty good. I've seen some of the hard work that has paid off and it's been encouraging. It's a process.''

He admits he's had some good opportunities this year, but hasn't taken advantage of them.

"Couple even going into Sunday where I just tanked it,'' he said.

Sunday, he'll play with Sabbatini, who shared second behind him at Augusta last year with Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods. So, Sabbatini knows when Johnson gets on a roll, a one-shot lead might not be enough.

"He's a phenomenal player,'' Sabbatini said. "I don't think there's anybody that owns a Green Jacket that isn't a phenomenal player. You don't stumble into that likely or get lucky. ''

And, he added, when Johnson's wedge game is on, "it's hard to find anyone better than him.''

We'd have to agree. It's rare to find Johnson with 10 wedges to holes in one round. Yet, that's happening every day.

"This is a course where I get the ball in the fairway, I can do some damage,'' he said after he pushed a 15-foot birdie at the 18th hole and it caught the cup and went in for the 62.

So far, he has. Now he's got 18 holes to go and it's pretty simple.

Down by a shot and his game's on. It's just a matter of what he's been working on all year -- patience.