Zach Johnson tells patrons to 'f*** off' at The Masters, then denies it after the round
Zach Johnson has come under fire by golf fans for his actions on day two at The Masters.
Zach Johnson was seen saying 'f*** off' in the direction of patrons who cheered his triple-bogey six on the 12th, only to then deny the accusation to a reporter after the second round of The Masters.
Johnson, 48, has been criticised by a number of American golf fans in recent times for the way he went about his captaincy of the losing United States Ryder Cup team at Marco Simone in Rome last September.
The two-time major champion was filmed getting hot under the collar with a few PGA Tour fans heckling him about the 2023 Ryder Cup during the WM Phoenix Open earlier this season.
A similar scenario played out at The Masters on day two when Johnson sent his tee shot into a bush on the iconic par-3 12th.
Johnson made a complete mess of the hole and eventually tapped in for a triple-bogey six. As the ball went down, patrons back over on the tee some 150 yards away were clapping sarcastically and cheering his efforts.
That clearly did not sit well with Johnson, who visibly turned to the patrons and shouted 'f*** off'.
WATCH WHAT HAPPENED HERE
Zach Johnson legitimately told the Masters patrons to fuck off after a triple on 12. You can hear it as clear as day here 😳 pic.twitter.com/vPMadfVPUt
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) April 12, 2024
Johnson went on to miss the cut by one shot on 7-over par.
He was then asked to comment about the incident after the round, to which he claimed it was 'completely laughable'.
Johnson said he could not hear anything from the patrons because they were so far away, and that his f-bomb, 'if' he even said it, would have been 'fully directed towards myself'.
WATCH JOHNSON'S RESPONSE HERE
His true colors on full display for all to see. Unraveling before our very eyes. Saw this on insta but hadn’t yet seen on here. pic.twitter.com/RE7DyVAYJ3
— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) April 13, 2024
Scroll below for Johnson's full exchange with the reporter after the second round...
Q. Why don't you clear the air about the social media thing.
ZACH JOHNSON: I'm not familiar with any social media thing out there. I've just signed my scorecard.
Q. There was some comment attributed to you to the patrons after your shots on 12.
ZACH JOHNSON: My first shot that went in the bush?
Q. It was after the putt maybe.
ZACH JOHNSON: After my putt for double bogey? Or after my putt for triple -- I guess it really doesn't matter. I can't hear anything from -- they're 100 -- with the downhill, they're 152. They're actually 154 away, so 152 away. I don't understand the situation at all.
What are they saying that I did or said?
Q. It's been reported that you swore at some of the patrons.
ZACH JOHNSON: That I swore at the patrons? That's laughable. That's completely laughable. 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?
Q. Since the Ryder Cup you've caught some comments from different fans at different tournaments. How difficult has that been to deal with?
ZACH JOHNSON: You're going to have to elaborate. I'm sorry.
Q. At the Phoenix Open there were some comments made.
ZACH JOHNSON: Oh, no, again, I'm not on social media, haven't been for months upon -- maybe even close to a year. I was shown a video. I think I know which one it was because it happened multiple times where I interjected. But when I see vomiting and then guys egging on the guy to drink another beer with a middle school golf team to my right, I'm going to say something as an adult.
Q. Have you felt like you've gotten grief from people over --
ZACH JOHNSON: No. Well, nothing face to face. Again, I'm not on social media for obvious reasons. I have social media within my management firm, if that makes sense, but I'm not on it personally. I don't think I've had -- I haven't had anything personally unfair in regards to anything. Again, I haven't been on social media, so I really don't know what's being said.
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