Former Masters champion and 2023 US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson found himself the subject of speculation and controversy during Friday's second round of the 2024 Masters Tournament.
Microphones picked up Johnson saying an expletive-laden phrase while on the par-3 12th green, and he was looking in the direction of the Masters patrons on the tee when he said it.
Johnson pulled his tee shot long and left to the par 3, going well behind the green. He decided to re-tee and hit his second tee shot, his third shot on the hole, long and right of the green. From there, Johnson need a chip and two putts to hole out for a triple-bogey 6. After Johnson tapped in for his score, he then turned in the direction of the patrons, who were politely clapping him finishing the hole, and was heard saying, "Oh, f*ck off."
A clip of the incident went viral on social media, while Johnson still had six holes left to play in his round before missing the cut. Augusta National Golf Club obviously did not include Johnson's phrase on the replay on their shot-by-shot footage of his round.
After the round, Johnson was asked about the incident. While Johnson couldn't deny what he said, he dismissed that it was directed toward the Masters patrons.
"That's laughable. That's completely laughable," he said. "I can't hear the patrons, number one. Number two, I just made a triple bogey on the 12th hole that evidently is going to make me miss the cut, which at the time I knew was pretty sensitive in the sense that I needed to keep making pars.
"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. Does that make sense?"
Either way, Johnson will not have to deal with the fallout from his comments as he isn't playing the weekend at Augusta National. However, it is the second viral incident this year involving Johnson and, at least somewhat, fans at a tournament. At the Phoenix Open this year, Johnson got into an argument with fans who enraged him after heckling him on the golf course.
