Zach Johnson is already making quite the splash on PGA Tour Champions. Less than two weeks after turning 50 and becoming eligible for the senior circuit, he shot a bogey-free 66 at Old Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Florida, on Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational.
On making his Champions Tour debut, he said, “The golf is still competitive. It’s still hard. It’s still all you want.”
Zach Johnson of the United States plays a shot on the first hole during the second round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational 2026 at The Old Course at Broken Sound on March 07, 2026 in Boca Raton, Florida.
Johnson, who celebrated his birthday on Feb. 24, eagled the par-5 10th, the middle stanza of a three-hole stretch that he played in 4 under. He seeking to become the 22nd player to win in his PGA Tour Champions debut. With a win on Sunday, he would become the fourth-youngest winner in Champions Tour history (50 years, 12 days). Johnson admitted that his body was certainly feeling like a guy now eligible for AARP.
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“I’ve got to say that the therapists I’ve had the last two or three days have really done a great job. I’m feeling 50 plus; we’ll just say that,” he said, noting he used a cart for a few holes during Saturday’s second round. “I didn’t know if I was going to be playing today. That’s extremely encouraging. That may be a slight embellishment. I probably would have tried to fight, regardless. But I was more pain-free today than I anticipated, which is great.”
Johnson opened with 70 and improved to 8-under 136, a stroke better than Steven Allen and George McNeill, who is making just his second start on the Champions Tour since he became eligible. Should he go on to victory on Sunday, it would be Johnson’s first win since the 2015 Open Championship, snapping a winless streak of 10 years, 7 months, 16 days (or 3,884 days).
Johnson’s 66 matched the low round of the day with Padraig Harrington. The game plan for the final round is a simple one: “I’m going to lean on the fact that what’s gotten me to this point is still there, and that’s all I’m going to go by,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Zach Johnson leads in PGA Tour Champions debut
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