Zach Johnson comes from a family of athletes.

The Oswego East senior and youngest brother in his family played multiple sports growing up, from baseball to basketball to football.

He stuck with basketball up until last year, when he gave it up to focus squarely on golf.

That commitment to golf showed.

Johnson was the Southwest Prairie Conference MVP this season, the first in Oswego East school history. He shot a 69 to win the SPC tournament, shot a 3-under par 68 at the regional meet and 4-under par 68 at sectionals to qualify for state.

Johnson shot an even-par over two days at the Class 3A state meet to tie for 10th, becoming the first All-State player in program history.

Johnson’s 68 and 4-under are both school records for 18 holes, and his 33 (-3) at Fox Bend against Minooka is also a school record. His final average of 35.13 for nine holes is also a school record. Johnson also won the Minooka Invite (72) and finished fifth at the Batavia Invite.

Zach Johnson is the Record Newspapers Boys Golfer of the Year.

Read more about him in this Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

What did it mean to be able to compete at state and what was the best part about playing there.

Johnson: It meant a lot to me to play at state, especially since it was my last year playing high school golf. It was definitely the most memorable event. The best part about state was being able to finish inside the top 10 for sure.

Your team had a great year and seemed to have a lot of depth. How did that help you and what did it mean to have team success?

Johnson: Being able to have that much depth is such a great thing, knowing that if you didn’t play your best there would always be another guy to fill in no matter what. That took off a lot of pressure, which made it easier to perform in high-pressure situations, which was key to our success.

How did you get started in golf? Did you play other sports? What made golf stick?

Johnson: I started golfing because of my grandpa. He would always ask for me to come play and I would always say no until i finally said yes and golf has stuck with me ever since because I loved it so much. I played a bunch of sports growing up like football, baseball, and basketball. I played basketball all my life up until my junior year where I decided to give it up and give my all into golf.

I know you come from a family of good athletes. How have your siblings pushed and motivated you?

Johnson: I’ve always been the youngest in a family full of athletes who would always beat me in everything. Having them be able to push me that hard has helped tremendously in my drive to work super hard in everything that I do so I’m not always getting beat and picked on in everything.

What kind of work and preparation did you make for this season?

Johnson: I put a ton of work in during the offseason which I wasn’t able to do in previous seasons due to my basketball season. And I feel like putting in that much work in and being able to play all year round helped sharpen every aspect of my game which made it so much easier to perform once the season came around.

Do you watch golf and if so is there a player you particularly like?

Johnson: I do like to watch golf, it’s really cool to see how good the players are on TV. If I were to pick my favorite player I would say it’s Tommy Fleetwood.

Outside of golf…do you have a favorite TV show or movie to binge?

Johnson: My favorite show to watch is either “Prison Break” or “Breaking Bad.”

Do you have a favorite meal a family member makes?

Johnson: My favorite meal is a nice medium-rare steak with a side of mashed potatoes.

Is there a place you’ve never visited but would love to vacation to?

Johnson: I would love to visit Switzerland.