The easier decision Jordan Spieth could have made would have been this:
“I’m really sorry, Zach. My life’s become so chaotic, and I’m under so much scrutiny everywhere I go now. I really need to channel my time and focus toward getting ready for the British Open. It’s best for me if I pass on coming back to your event in Iowa.”
Many in Spieth’s position would have made that call, and you really couldn’t have blamed them. When someone wins the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year, they’re breathing rarefied air and a lot of people want to share that airspace.
But Spieth, who appeared at last year’s Zach Johnson Foundation Classic, approached Johnson in April to say he’d like to make another swing through Elmcrest Country Club for this year’s ZJFC. He never wavered on that pledge.
“Jordan actually mentioned that he wanted to come back to my event,” Johnson said. “I truly didn’t have to ask or urge him to play. This was all just after the Masters. He has stayed committed since. He mentioned how much fun he had last year and cannot wait to come back to Iowa.”
In its five-year history, the ZJFC has done a good job of getting top professional golfers with sterling resumes, starting with the host himself and his 11 PGA Tour victories that include a Masters triumph. This year’s field is easily its deepest and best, with world-class players that include Jason Day, Billy Horschel and Jason Dufner.
But to have the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion, the man who has been on two Sports Illustrated covers in the last three months, the talk of golf? That doesn’t require a lot of selling for Johnson’s event. Jordan Spieth’s here. Enough said.