Nov 18, 2015 4 min read

Zach Johnson turns 40 next February, an age where it can be tempting to look back at how far he has come without taking his eyes off the road that could lead places he never imagined.

He lost track of the miles he put on a car that took him to remote golf outposts in America with dreams of making it to the big leagues.

“I know every interstate, I think, in the United States,” Johnson said. “My wife used to quiz me with an atlas. ‘Where does this one start and end?’ I could tell you. It’s pretty pathetic. Just makes you appreciate where you were and where you’ve come from and what opportunity means. That’s really what it all is.

“It’s really about making the best of your opportunities,” he said. “And somehow, I was able to do that.”

He has a green jacket from Augusta National and a claret jug from St. Andrews.

Those two majors are among his 12 victories on the PGA Tour, and while Johnson does not look like an intimidating figure in golf, his resume says otherwise. He is halfway to the career Grand Slam. A few more PGA Tour titles would make it tough to overlook the Iowa native for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

That surely wasn’t on his mind when he was behind the wheel of that Dodge Intrepid.

And part of him is trying to block it out now.

“There is still a lot to be done,” he said.

At No. 10 in the world, Johnson is the top player at the RSM Classic, which starts today as the final PGA Tour event of the year.

Woods vice captain in Ryder Cup: Tiger Woods will be at the Ryder Cup next year at Hazeltine. Still to be determined is whether he plays.

U.S. captain Davis Love III said Wednesday that Woods, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker will be vice captains for the 2016 matches in Minnesota.

Woods had back surgery in September and a follow-up procedure. He said he faces a long and tedious recovery and has not indicated when he will be able to play again. Love said that Woods has told him he still wants to make the team – and if does, he still wants to be a vice captain.

Both teams can have up to five vice captains.

Love previously named Tom Lehman as a vice captain, and he will name a fifth one later.

LPGA finale has Ko, Park vying for major prizes: Without question, it’s a rivalry. Lydia Ko and Inbee Park are just choosing not to make it a heated one.

All they’re playing for this week at the LPGA Tour Championship is the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, the season’s money crown, the yearlong scoring title and the tour’s player of the year award. Oh, a potential payday of $1.5 million might be awaiting them as well. And Park could wrap up her eventual spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

It’s not a head-to-head matchup that starts today at Tiburon Golf Club – there are 69 other players in the field – but it sure seems like one, given that the tour’s biggest award races are left for Ko and Park to decide.

“We have everything on the line,” Park said. “What Lydia is doing can affect so many things and what I can achieve. It’s hard, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t make Lydia play bad or good. I can’t do anything like that. I’ve got to do good and then just see what happens.”

They’ll be paired together Thursday, along with world No. 3 Stacy Lewis. Like Ko and Park, Lewis also controls her destiny when it comes to the $1 million “Race to CME Globe” bonus; with a win, any of them clinch that cash. There’s another six women in the field who also have a chance to win the million, including world No. 4 Lexi Thompson.