Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson lost sight of his ball after his bunker shot from 193 yards out during the second sudden-death playoff hole Sunday at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. But he liked what he heard. “I liked that crescendo from the crowd,” Johnson said. His ball bounced on the green, then ran up to less than a foot from the cup. An easy birdie putt later, Johnson had knocked off Troy Matteson, whose approach landed 43 feet away, for the tournament victory. An earlier roar from the crowd wasn't such a positive sign for Johnson, who held a one-stroke lead over Matteson while playing the 18th hole.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team is complete, as team captain Davis Love III added four players to the squad Tuesday. Love completed the 12-man team by selecting Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. Already on the team were Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson. “I think we're extremely deep this time, deeper than we've ever been. … There was a lot of guys that played a lot of really good golf,” Love said.

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England - Zach Johnson played nearly perfect golf Thursday in the British Open, shared second place with his five-under-par 65, and is assured of a brief mention in the seventh paragraph of most stories on the first round. Several reasons for that. One is that he's from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, giving him a profile about the same as his birthplace. He is Midwest in a game where East, West and South stir the drink. His sport's imagery tends to have a New England hard edge, a California palm tree or a Southern drawl.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - For the first time in memory, nobody played their way onto the U.S. Ryder Cup roster with a strong PGA Championship performance. Steve Stricker came the closest to bumping Phil Mickelson from the eighth and final automatic berth. His closing 71, though, left him two strokes short of earning enough points to make the jump from No.10. Bo Van Pelt also had a chance, but needed a second-place finish and had those chances fade with three late bogeys. Mickelson instead nailed down a record ninth consecutive U.S. appearance.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The way these first two days have played out, the Players Championship could just as easily have been contested about 90 minutes up the highway. Call it the Frederica Golf Club member-guest. All that seems to be missing are their fellow Sea Island denizens — and who knows how many might be heading down for the weekend anyway. "We have a great crew of guys up in Sea Island," said Matt Kuchar, whose four-under-par 68 Friday lifted him alongside neighbor Zach Johnson — and "ringer" Kevin Na — after two rounds at TPC Sawgrass.

If Troy Matteson was a baseball player, it wouldn't have been a big deal -- he hits a ball into the stands and some lucky person goes home with a souvenir. But Matteson is a professional golfer and when their balls go astray, it's hands off or else! Someone probably should have passed on this information to a now-infamous kid before he pounced on the ball Matteson hit into the crowd on the 18th hole Sunday afternoon. From the looks of the video, several people informed the lad immediately after he committed the sin of all sins on the PGA Tour.

  So there you are, minding your own business at the British Open. You are 300 yards away from the tee. No need to pay attention, really, because what could possibly happen? Well, if Rory McIlroy is teeing off, plenty. McIlroy sent a tee shot wide on Friday that hit spectator Jason Blue in the head and ended up out of bounds. But it wasn't all a lost cause. After McIlroy found out what he had done, he signed one of his gloves and gave it to Blue, who seems pretty dazed in the above video.

Director Ron Howard will drive the pace car at the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race July 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, track officials said Friday. Howard is making a movie about motor racing, "Rush," a drama that centers around the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda for the 1976 world championship. The film, starring Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Lauda, is expected to be released next year. It will be Howard's first visit to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he'll be a guest of four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

The Ducks have signed free-agent center Daniel Winnik to a two-year, $3.6-million contract. Winnik had eight goals and 23 points with San Jose and Colorado last season. His best season came with Colorado in 2010-11, when he had 11 goals and 26 points. Winnik will be a depth forward and a left-handed shot for the Ducks, probably competing for a third- or fourth-line center spot with Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino. Selected by Phoenix in the ninth round (265th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Winnik has also played 12 career Stanley Cup playoff games with Phoenix (2010)

Zach Johnson, who took the Masters at Augusta National in April, won the AT&T Classic in Duluth, Ga., on Sunday, beating Ryuji Imada with a birdie on the first playoff hole at the TPC Sugarloaf course. Johnson, also the 2004 AT&T winner, closed with a five-under-par 67 to match Imada (70) at 15-under 273 through 72 holes. In the playoff on the par-five 18th, Johnson hit his second shot above the pin, then rolled a 60-footer for eagle within five inches of the hole.

  So there you are, minding your own business at the British Open. You are 300 yards away from the tee. No need to pay attention, really, because what could possibly happen? Well, if Rory McIlroy is teeing off, plenty. McIlroy sent a tee shot wide on Friday that hit spectator Jason Blue in the head and ended up out of bounds. But it wasn't all a lost cause. After McIlroy found out what he had done, he signed one of his gloves and gave it to Blue, who seems pretty dazed in the above video.

Director Ron Howard will drive the pace car at the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race July 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, track officials said Friday. Howard is making a movie about motor racing, "Rush," a drama that centers around the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda for the 1976 world championship. The film, starring Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Lauda, is expected to be released next year. It will be Howard's first visit to the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he'll be a guest of four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

The Ducks have signed free-agent center Daniel Winnik to a two-year, $3.6-million contract. Winnik had eight goals and 23 points with San Jose and Colorado last season. His best season came with Colorado in 2010-11, when he had 11 goals and 26 points. Winnik will be a depth forward and a left-handed shot for the Ducks, probably competing for a third- or fourth-line center spot with Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino. Selected by Phoenix in the ninth round (265th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Winnik has also played 12 career Stanley Cup playoff games with Phoenix (2010)

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England - Zach Johnson played nearly perfect golf Thursday in the British Open, shared second place with his five-under-par 65, and is assured of a brief mention in the seventh paragraph of most stories on the first round. Several reasons for that. One is that he's from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, giving him a profile about the same as his birthplace. He is Midwest in a game where East, West and South stir the drink. His sport's imagery tends to have a New England hard edge, a California palm tree or a Southern drawl.

If Troy Matteson was a baseball player, it wouldn't have been a big deal -- he hits a ball into the stands and some lucky person goes home with a souvenir. But Matteson is a professional golfer and when their balls go astray, it's hands off or else! Someone probably should have passed on this information to a now-infamous kid before he pounced on the ball Matteson hit into the crowd on the 18th hole Sunday afternoon. From the looks of the video, several people informed the lad immediately after he committed the sin of all sins on the PGA Tour.

Zach Johnson lost sight of his ball after his bunker shot from 193 yards out during the second sudden-death playoff hole Sunday at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. But he liked what he heard. “I liked that crescendo from the crowd,” Johnson said. His ball bounced on the green, then ran up to less than a foot from the cup. An easy birdie putt later, Johnson had knocked off Troy Matteson, whose approach landed 43 feet away, for the tournament victory. An earlier roar from the crowd wasn't such a positive sign for Johnson, who held a one-stroke lead over Matteson while playing the 18th hole.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team is complete, as team captain Davis Love III added four players to the squad Tuesday. Love completed the 12-man team by selecting Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. Already on the team were Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson. “I think we're extremely deep this time, deeper than we've ever been. … There was a lot of guys that played a lot of really good golf,” Love said.

Neal Lancaster shot a seven-under-par 64 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the John Deere Classic, as Masters champion Zach Johnson couldn't settle in at home. Ranked 15th in the world and the only top-45 player in the tournament, Johnson shot a one-under 70 at Silvis, Ill. Johnson grew up slightly more than an hour away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and he considers this his home event even though he has never finished higher than 20th.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The way these first two days have played out, the Players Championship could just as easily have been contested about 90 minutes up the highway. Call it the Frederica Golf Club member-guest. All that seems to be missing are their fellow Sea Island denizens — and who knows how many might be heading down for the weekend anyway. "We have a great crew of guys up in Sea Island," said Matt Kuchar, whose four-under-par 68 Friday lifted him alongside neighbor Zach Johnson — and "ringer" Kevin Na — after two rounds at TPC Sawgrass.

Zach Johnson was four shots off the lead, but still hopeful, when he teed off in the third round of the Chevron World Challenge on Saturday. "You never know, 36 holes [left], right?" Johnson said. Speaking of Tiger Woods and the other leaders, Johnson said, "Hopefully I get to see them. " Johnson actually went right past them Saturday, using a dramatic eagle on the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead over Woods in the 18-player tournament in Thousand Oaks that benefits Woods' charitable foundation.