How Zach Johnson was simultaneously in first *and* last place at the PGA Championship

Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson, the PGA Tour pro, tees off on the 8th hole at TPC Harding Park on Thursday.

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Zach Johnson was in first at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on Thursday afternoon. 

Zach Johnson was in last at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on Thursday afternoon. 

The season’s first major was bookended by Zach Johnsons. One at the top. One at the bottom.

Zach Johnson at the top is a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2015 Open Championship and the 2007 Masters. He was at 5-under for a while. 

Zach Johnson at the bottom is a 37-year-old PGA professional from Utah who was playing in his second PGA Championship, following the 2018 event. He was at 9-over for a while. 

According to Golf Channel, PGA professional Zach Johnson has been often confused for PGA Tour pro Zach Johnson. The former once received a framed scorecard from the latter’s win at the 2009 Sony Open. The former has received emails from the PGA Tour players advisory council meant for the latter. 

The two leaned into on Wednesday during a practice round, taking a photo.

Zach Johnson on the left. Zach Johnson on the right.

“It’s been some fun, lighthearted humor over the years,” PGA professional Zach Johnson told Golf Channel. 

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Nick Piastowski

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.