Did Zach Johnson curse toward Masters patrons? What he said after triple bogey on No. 12
Editor's note: A tweet within this story contains profanity.
Zach Johnson has seen some success at the Masters.
The 48-year-old won the tournament in 2007 and finished 20th in 2008 and ninth in 2015.
Johnson's 2024 Masters won't be remembered fondly.
The Iowa native will miss the cut at 7-over after a 3-over par in Friday's second round.
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Why did Zach Johnson yell at patrons?
Johnson shot ever par on the first nine, but he fell apart on the par-3 12th hole. He triple bogeyed the hole that has proved trouble for many golfers in the Masters' 88 year history.
No patrons heckled Johnson directly, and they lightly applauded as he knocked in the short putt.
Johnson, though, thought the cheers implied a "finally, he's done" attitude, so he shot back.
The Amen Corner feed on Masters.com caught Johnson using some profanity toward the patrons.
Zach Johnson legitimately told the Masters patrons to fuck off after a triple on 12. You can hear it as clear as day here 😳 pic.twitter.com/vPMadfVPUt
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) April 12, 2024
Not a first for Zach Johnson
Johnson, along with other golfers, became outraged at fans following their behavior at the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale in February.
After the tournament, Johnson said he'd lean towards not playing in the WMO after this year.
“This tournament has been inappropriate and crossed the line since I’ve been on Tour, and this is my 21st year,” he said.
Fan/golfer engagement is common at the Waste Management, as the event is notorious for its rowdiness, even though that brutishness did go up a level this year.
However, to engage with patrons like that at Augusta National is uncommon.
Zach Johnson reacts
After Johnson finished his round he addressed the incident with the media.
The former Ryder Cup captain called it "laughable" that he swore at patrons.
"I can't hear the patrons, number one," Johnson said. "Number two, I had just made triple bogey on the 12th hole that was evidently going to make me miss the cut."
Johnson further clarified.
"If I've said anything, which I'm not going to deny, especially if it's on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can't hear anything behind me," Johnson said.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Zach Johnson: Masters champion explains cursing caught on camera
