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Johnson blessed to win on Easter

New Masters champ one of the more religious players on PGA Tour

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - Zach Johnson will take a win at the Masters any day.

That he did it on Easter made it even more special.

“I don’t know if I was necessarily calm. I had some people looking after me today,” Johnson said after he finished the 18th hole Sunday. “Being Easter, my faith is very important to me.

“I felt Jesus, I felt my grandfather, my family, everybody,” he said, his voice shaking. “So it was awesome.”

Johnson became one of the most unlikely Masters champions ever, holding off Tiger Woods to win the year’s first major by two strokes. It was only his second victory on the PGA Tour.

Johnson is known as one of the more religious players on tour, and he makes no secret of his faith. When he climbed up on a riser behind the 18th green for an interview, he joked that he should “start preaching.”

But he turned serious later, discussing a thought that was foremost in his mind the entire day.

“Regardless of what happened today, my responsibility was to glorify God,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I did.”

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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