Zach Johnson has achieved many things as a professional golfer.
The Iowa City-born former Cedar Rapids high school athlete has 12 career PGA Tour wins. He won the Masters in 2007 and the British Open in 2015. He has made five Ryder Cup teams and captained the United States squad in 2023.
He’s won more than $50 million since turning pro in 1998.
He turned 50 in February and, in March, won his debut on the Champions Tour, the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, by four shots.
But his greatest achievement over the past three decades?
Don’t ask.
“I’m not into ledgers,” he said in a recent telephone interview from his home in St. Simons Island, Ga. “I am not into measuring.”
But the Zach Johnson Foundation and its Kids on Course program has to be near the top of that list, if such a list existed. Kids of Course provides “year-round tutoring, long-term mentoring, enrichment activities and family support to students in high-poverty schools.”
To date, Mr. Johnson’s foundation has raised more than $26 million and supports 10 Cedar Rapids schools. It helps more than 1,000 students annually.
That’s a pretty solid achievement. But Mr. Johnson doesn’t see it that way.
“Is it my greatest achievement?” he said when asked if his foundation ranked above all the wins and accolades. “I don’t know. … I look at it as a joy-filled responsibility to partner with the community that gave me everything so that we can make it better.”
The 16th annual Zach Johnson Foundation Classic, a key fundraiser for Kids on Course, was set for June 8 at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids. Though it was canceled due to heavy rain and replaced with a Q and A session with Mr. Johnson. It was at this tournament that Mr. Johnson got his start as a young golfer, and it was there he found support later in life when he wanted to turn pro.
Transamerica, with a major operation in Cedar Rapids, also has been along for this unlikely ride, backing Mr. Johnson since he turned pro.
“Actually, they helped me hatch this endeavor,” he said. “They’ve been there since Day One and many others have, too.”
That’s why Mr. Johnson doesn’t see this as a great achievement. It’s been a lot of work for a lot of people, something Mr. Johnson acknowledges and appreciates. To him, it’s simply giving back.
“I didn’t set out to achieve this,” he said. “But I can honestly say, outside of being probably the most humbling endeavor I’ve ever been associated with, with the exception of my own kids, this is one of those things that absolutely is the most fulfilling byproduct of what I’m able to do inside the ropes.
“That platform is a responsibility to take it to the masses, and why not go to the community that gave me everything so that I’m able to do what I do? I’m able to, I don’t want to say chase my dreams, because I don’t know if my dreams necessarily got this far. But why not go back to the community that paved the way, showed me how to work, showed me how to be a steward of the God-given abilities I’ve been given … Let’s go to the kids in that community that are going to be the future of that community.
“That’s the roots of it. That’s where we start and that’s where we end.”
Laura Wirth, a Transamerica vice president who is head of Corporate Development, said the company’s relationship with Mr. Johnson is unique.
“It’s really a testament to both our shared roots in Midwestern values,” she said. “It’s rare for a company to partner with an athlete for more than 20 years, and it’s because of what he believes and how he believes in the community, in giving back to the community.
“That is just something that both Transamerica and Zach are very adamant on making sure that we do.”
Mr. Johnson said corporate sponsorships, like Transamerica’s, are key to his success. He also called the relationship “unique.”
“I’m a partner, an ambassador,” he said “… I think it’s unique because of the number of years we’ve been together, but more, from Day One, there’s always the business side that has to be taken care of. I don’t deal with that, thankfully. I’m not smart enough to know how to tackle that kind of issue.
“But what I do know is that from Day One, we wanted to make it a win-win. … knowing that I’ve got a partner that wants to help me and provide me the freedom to go compete week in week out as a player, as a competitor. And having freedom to compete is essential, and it can be dangerous in a good way, if that makes sense. So, they’ve given me that.”
And it’s an evolving relationship, as is the Kids on Course program. Mr. Johnson and Transamerica are announcing this fall a new phase in the program — a Financial Education Program.
“Financial education is really central to (our) mission and how we give back to these kids,” Ms. Wirth said.
Last year, there was a “Saving for a Rainy Day” contest that helped five students.
Mr. Johnson and Transamerica wanted to “grow it into something bigger and more impactful for more children,” Ms. Wirth said. “…. We’re going to build a grade by grade, financial literacy journey, and that will help prepare the students for lifelong financial confidence.
“It will be in three phases. The first phase will start in the elementary school ages. It’ll be the foundation of the program. And that’ll be focused on understanding money. … That will be followed by an application stage in the middle schools. And that will be focused on managing money. And then by the time they get to high school, that’s the ownership phase. So really building wealth and independence. … That’ll help really build that foundation for the lifelong financial confidence that those kids can get throughout their young adulthood and set them up for success.”
Mr. Johnson called the new program “immense” and “special.”
“Every year we try to make it bigger and better,” he said of the ZJF. “It’s evolved and it’s changing, but our mission has essentially stayed the same, and our goals, although they’re fluid, they’re reachable.”
Mr. Johnson said he owes a lot to Transamerica and other supporters along the way. He also owes a lot to the game of golf, but noted it’s “not my identity.”
“It’s not the main purpose in life,” he said. “However, that platform of the PGA Tour and the game of professional golf allows me and gives me many, many opportunities. And I would say the Foundation, and specifically our program Kids on Course, is one of, if not, the most paramount opportunities in my life, outside of providing for my family, to elevate, to be a steward.”
This is the CBJ’s new recurring column exploring the business of sports in the Corridor, sponsored by Steindler Orthopedic Clinic.
While the scoreboard tells you who won the game, this column reveals the bigger story: How sports fuel local economies, transform communities, and open doors for entrepreneurs and investors throughout Eastern Iowa. From youth sports facilities to professional team developments, we’ll uncover the deals, the dollars, and the decisions shaping the Corridor’s sports landscape.
