Zach Johnson, the former Masters champion, has his recent impressive form firmly in perspective as he seeks his third win in a row in the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Johnson won the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge in spectacular fashion in December, holing a pitch shot for par on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with the world No.1 Tiger Woods, which he won on the first extra hole. The world No.7 then returned to action last week by claiming the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but is not getting too carried away by his winning streak.
"We're talking about two tournaments," said Johnson, whose sole major title to date came at Augusta in 2007. "The last two tournaments I beat 17 guys and 29 guys, so a little perspective there too. They were not full-field events. I definitely feel like I've put myself in a place that this is a little foreign to me. Some of the numbers I'm not exactly comfortable with or have never been to, meaning top 10 in the world, that kind of thing.
"I'm also a realist. I know this game at some point could beat me up again so I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing, try to keep things very simple. There are going to be more media requests for me in the next couple of weeks and that's fine, I can deal with that. I dealt with that in '07, I dealt with it in '10, and '11.
"Winning a lot of golf tournaments in a row, or multiple times in a four-month stretch; I'm not that accustomed to yet. I hope I can get more accustomed to it. I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal because I'm going to try to keep things as simple as possible.
"It seems to me the best players in the world, they don't play as much as I have in the past, but when they get to the golf course, they do the same exact thing, and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm going to try to keep doing what I'm doing."
Adam Scott, the world No.2, is also in the field at Waialae, along with 2013 PGA Tour rookie of the year Jordan Spieth, who finished second behind Johnson last week.
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