Johnson has 'no expectations' in title defense at new course

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Zach Johnson is gunning for his third straight title at the Valero Texas Open.

Zach Johnson won the Valero Texas Open back-to-back.

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So can he win it back-to-back-to-back? Pick up a rare three-fer?

Fair question, you'd think, as we enter tournament week. Even after a fairly imperfect closing 75 last week. Except for one thing -- the tournament moved to a new course and, well, Johnson had one chance to play the new one.

And -- wouldn't you know it -- the new San Antonio Oaks course was too wet to play.

"So I've driven around it,'' Johnson said of the Greg Norman design. "It's long. It's a totally different course from La Cantera. It's going to be a hard test.''

How hard? Drum roll, please.

"Cameron Beckman plays it a lot,'' Johnson said. "And he plays from the tips. And he's broken 70 once.''

By way of comparison, Johnson shot 19 --under to win his first Valero Texas Open ; 15-under to win the second. The course, which had views of Six Flags Fiesta Texas and the Superman: Krypton Coaster, was a crash course in going-low. In 2003, Tommy Armour III ran away and, shooting 26-under, 254 to win by seven shots.

As for going for that three-fer? Only Tiger Woods (Memorial from 1999-2001 and three different World Golf Championship events) and Tom Watson (Byron Nelson Classic from 1978-1980) have pulled off that feat in the last 25 years.

But who knows, Johnson said. Winning two in a row breeds confidence.

"This game thrives on confidence -- or being confident in what you're trying to do,'' he said. "The golf course totally different but I'm confident in San Antonio, so that's never a bad thing.''

Neither is having that Green Jacket. Or five other wins, including two last year -- the Texas Open and the Sony Open. And he's ready -- perhaps pushing too hard -- for a win this year.

He opened 2010 with three quick top 20s and a T24 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Since then he's been up and down, including a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And, he was in contention, just five off the lead, going into the final round of THE PLAYERS, but closed with a 75 to share 22nd.

"It's in the head,'' Johnson said. "Game's good. It's the head. I want to do now instead of letting it happen. Hitting it well, putting it ok. The impatience has come from the putter more than anything else.

''It's one of those where I get it going and then something happens. I haven't been able to put four days together. It's a matter of sticking to the process and sticking to the day at hand rather than the outcome.''

Last year, Johnson felt a rhythm all season. He missed four cuts -- including the Masters and U.S. Open -- and had seven top 10s to go with those two wins.

"I just,'' he said, "rolled with it.''

He's close to hitting that zone again. He's looking at the positives, which includes the fact he and wife Kim are expecting their second child in July.

"I feel like my game's in a good position over all,'' he said.

Johnson jumped in to help his hometown of Cedar Rapids when floods hit there in 2008, and he has kept an eye on the recent Nashville floods. The Johnsons have worked with a ministry in the area which wasn't torn apart.

"It's amazing the power of water and that you have no control over it is frightening,'' Johnson said. "You get flood waters and river banks that start to rise. Hurricanes cause a lot of damage, but a current through the middle of the city, it's devastating.

"The people in Cedar Rapids are pushing through. They're not quitting. The people in Nashville will be that way too.''

Johnson didn't rush to San Antonio after THE PLAYERS, instead opting to play in Ben Crane's charity event Monday. He'll play Tuesday and Wednesday, then tee it up two-time defending champ Thursday.

"I have no expectations in that,'' Johnson said. "I don't like expectations -- good or bad. I expect myself to execute. I expect myself to hit quality shots. But results? I have no expectations.''

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.