Former Ryder Cup skipper opens up on being the ‘oldest guy’ on PGA Tour fields

Former US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson opened up about playing in the PGA Tour in his late 40s. The American golfer is preparing to tee off this week at the 2025 John Deere Classic.

Ahead of the tournament, Johnson attended a pre-event press conference and talked about playing on the circuit with young players. He said, via ASAP Sports:

"It's nice knowing that there will be an outlet for me if I want to go that direction and still compete. Those guys are really good, too. Again, really, really, really good. Some of those guys have played out here as you know, somewhat recent and had some successes.

"It's crazy. I know I'm the oldest guy -- I think I've been the oldest guy in every field in year. I think Padraig played one week I played. Outside of Augusta obviously. When I get to the first tee, fortunately it doesn't really matter. Still feel like I can do it," he added.

Zach Johnson has been playing golf as a professional since 1998 and so far has won 26 tournaments, including 12 on the PGA Tour.

In this season on the PGA Tour, the 49-year-old has played in 11 tournaments. He made the cut in six of them and recorded one finish in the top 10.

Johnson started his campaign at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he settled in T21 but then missed the cut at The American Express. He settled in T8 at the Masters, but in his last outing at the Rocket Classic, he had a tough time on the greens and settled in T82.

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PGA Tour pro Zach Johnson candidly reflects on his plans for the senior Tour

Zach Johnson at the PGA: Masters Tournament - Final Round - Source: Imagn

Next year, Zach Johnson will turn 50, and he will be eligible to play on the Senior Tour. In the pre-round press conference of the John Deere Classic, held on Wednesday, July 2, he talked about his plans to play on the PGA Tour Champions. He said, via ASAP Sports:

"I'll say this: I hope I have the option of coming back here for the foreseeable future. I don't know what the future will hold. Honestly, going back to the beginning of that, a lot of what is going to transpire next year is going to be determined by the next so many odd weeks out here."

Meanwhile, this week, on the PGA Tour, Zach Johnson will tee off at the 2025 John Deere Classic's first round on Thursday, July 3. The play will start at 7:45 a.m. ET with players starting the game in groups of three on the first and tenth holes of TPC Deere Run.

Johnson is scheduled to start his game in a group with Joe Highsmith and Brian Campbell at 2:11 p.m. ET on the first tee hole.