Zach Johnson after John Deere Classic Pro-Am with NCAA star: "She's lethal"
An Iowa superstar drew a huge crowd during the John Deere Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday.
US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson was the second most popular Iowa athlete at the John Deere Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday.
This week, the PGA Tour is back at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, which is nestled along the Iowa border.
Johnson, 47, was born an hour-and-a-half away from the course in Cedar Rapids, and is a hometown favourite at the event every year.
This season, the buzz around the American has increased as the countdown to the Ryder Cup in Italy this fall continues.
Questions still loom over whether or not LIV Golf players can and will be picked - something that's picked up more speed after Brooks Koepka's PGA Championship win and the recent news of an agreement between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) and the PGA Tour.
And yet, the focus during Wednesday's pro-am was not on Johnson and the Ryder Cup, but instead on another star Iowa athlete.
Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa basketball player who rose to prominence during the NCAA Division I championship tournament earlier this year, teed it up this Wednesday for the tournament's pro-am.
Per PGATour.com, Clark brought the biggest crowd to the John Deere Classic Pro-Am since Bill Murray took part in it back in 2015.
Caitlin Clark is simply an athlete
Fans were gathered for the @IowaWBB star's first drive at the @JDCLASSIC.
@MattRandazzo | @CaitlinClark22 pic.twitter.com/4q6lW5Q6UR— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 5, 2023
When asked if he was a bit starstruck to be playing alongside the Hawkeye's guard, Johnson didn't hold back.
"Oh, absolutely," the 12-time PGA Tour winner said. "I don't live in the State of Iowa, but when it comes to my attachment outside of my family certainly and outside of a couple other entities, right, specifically my foundation and I would say Transamerica, I'm a fan of the state and those that excel at a high level.
"Then when you compound -- obviously we know that when she crosses half court, she's lethal."
One reporter asked Johnson if there were any parallels between Clark and 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods in their respective sports.
"Sure. Yeah, I don't know. I'm not smart enough to know that," Johnson said. "I know what the numbers say. I mean, more people watch the NCAA women's than the NCAA men's, and I'm a huge fan of college basketball in general."
He added:
Per the PGA Tour, the NCAA Championship game where Clark faced off against the LSU Tigers, drew a record 9.9 million viewers.
Unsurprisingly, Clark said she wasn't nervous for Wednesday's round with the Ryder Cup captain.
Right down the middle.@CaitlinClark22's got game @JDClassic pic.twitter.com/rFLEZuvtKI
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 5, 2023
"I wasn't too nervous. Kind of just don't waste time. Just go up there and just hit it," she told reporters. "I think it's kind of the same with basketball. You have to kind of settle into the game a little bit. Same here with golf. You have to settle in after the first hole.
"It was really just like you're out there playing with nobody watching, and I think that's sometimes how it is playing basketball. You block everything out. I don't always hear the crowd even though they're really, really loud. You kind of get in the zone of doing what you do, and the nerves kind of fade away."
Clark is entering her senior season with the Hawkeye's women's team this year.
On Thursday, Johnson is set to tee off at 7:40 a.m. local time for the John Deere Classic.
