Zach Johnson, an expert in Mental Golf, wins the John Deere Classic

There is no question that Zach Johnson is a great golfer.

He has been on the PGA Tour for eight years, now, and he has won nine tournaments including the 2007 Masters and the John Deere Classic played this week, his second victory of the year, that has him at N° 2 in the Fedex race, only behind Tiger Woods.

Johnson came through the typical USA golf programs, but he was never number one in his teams in high school or college, and his huge success is a result of hard work and perseverance that took him from the mini tours, to the Nationwide Tour, where he was number one in the 2003 season, and to the PGA Tour.

He made it big time because he worked hard, because of his Christian Faith and because he assembled a great team. A great permanent swing coach, a successful personal fitness trainer and an expert mental coach. I enjoyed reading Johnson´s web page with details of his team, his personal story and his charity foundation  (http://www.zachjohnsongolf.com/ContentPages/Home.aspx). Zach Johnson comes across, not only as a great golf professional, but, also, as a great human being.

But what I like best about Johnson is his commitment to his on course Mental Method.

Johnson is a pupil of Doctor Morris (Mo) Pickens a respected sports psychologist from the University of Virginia where he studied under doctor Bob Rotella, then head of the sports psychology program.

In all Zach Johnson´s interviews including his victorious one as winner of yesterday´s John Deere Classic, one can perceive the influence of powerful Mental Golf concepts, including the value of patience, the importance of not getting too caught up in the highs and lows of golf results, techniques for facing high pressure situations and the need to not get "ahead" of oneself.

The key for the Zach Johnson/ Mo Pickens team is to face pressure situations concentrating on the process of hitting great golf shots instead of being concerned about the outcome of the round or the golf tournament.

Johnson y Mo Pickens

Last but not least, I liked what Johnson said, yesterday, regarding his capacity to always remain serene.

Serene and very happy if he plays well under pressure and hits great golf shots to win a tournament. And equally serene if things don´t work out and he loses a tournament when in the hunt, because this serenity allows him to learn from the experience and allows him to be better prepared for the next time around.

No doubt we will have Zach Johnson around for a long time because he is one of the elite world class golfers that knows most about Mental Golf.