Zach Johnson reluctantly hands back Claret Jug ahead of Open defence
By Keith Jackson at Royal Troon
Last Updated: 11/07/16 9:37pm
Zach Johnson has admitted it was a "bittersweet" moment when the time came to hand the Claret Jug back to the R&A ahead of The 145th Open at Royal Troon.
The defending champion parted company with the most coveted trophy in golf shortly before his noon news conference on Monday, although he will consider himself the Champion Golfer of the Year until Sunday evening.
Johnson, who edged out Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a play-off at windswept St Andrews last year, has enjoyed taking the Claret Jug to various places in his native Iowa, and he revealed he and his friends drank wine from the trophy at their guest house in Ayrshire.
After handing the silverware back to R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, Johnson said: "It was something I'll never forget.
"I kind of parted ways emotionally with it at home, so once I got to the formalities of it, it really wasn't that difficult.
"But it was bittersweet. Bittersweet. More sweet, but the fact that you've got to give it back, you know it's coming. I guess a portion of that sweetness is you still have an opportunity to get it back yourself.
"My thoughts now are 100 per cent positive in the sense that, technically, I'm still Champion Golfer of the Year. I've got to get the Claret Jug back, which I did. It was not pleasant, but there's still an opportunity to go out there and play. That's what it is. Last year was last year, and now we're moving on, shifting on mentally and excited for the week."
Asked when he last took a drink from the Claret Jug, he added: "I'm staying in a house with some buddies and we had a glass of wine out of it. Well, we didn't have a glass of wine; we had wine out of it. It is a Claret decanter, so it serves its purpose in that regard!"
Johnson was famously photographed using the Jug to hold an ear of corn when he returned to Iowa, and he then showed the trophy off at Kinnick Stadium - home of the Iowa University Hawkeyes football team.
"It's been on the football field of Kinnick Stadium in my home state, on the 50-yard line," he added. "That's probably not normal. My guess is, unless I'm lucky enough to do it again, it probably won't ever happen certainly in my lifetime. Hopefully that happens again, but that's a rare viewing, if you will.
"I probably had the thing for three months, but I've probably been around it for a lot longer than that because I've been with it as far as where it's been. But at home, it just hasn't been on St Simons Island that long, although when it was there, it was put to great use.
"Just seeing family and friends and sponsors and fans of golf embrace it has been pretty awesome. That thing has a lot of, well, weight to it in the sense that it represents golf and sports, as far as I'm concerned.
"The stories I've been getting with the individuals that I've entrusted it with, it's been awesome to receive it, but it's been even better to give it back because of the responsibility that comes along with it. And I get it. That makes complete sense.
"So they've said that, but they've also said, 'Yeah, I'll take it back'. It's just so much fun having the ability to have that Claret Jug for a portion of your life."
Johnson played in his first Open at Royal Troon in 2004, and he is looking forward to the challenge of defending the trophy on a course in which Americans have triumphed on the last six visits to the Ayrshire links.
"The memories were brief because I only played two days," he said. "I don't remember every hole, I certainly remember the Postage Stamp and 17 and 18 coming in, and a couple of other shots I remember.
"I think this tournament magnifies my weaknesses more than any other tournament, but it also magnifies your strengths. And I say that because you have to have every shot. Clearly you've got to hit it low in links golf, but you've got to hit high, too. You've got to use the wind, and you've got to fight the wind depending on the situation."