Zach Johnson Holds Off Monday Qualifier to Win Sanford International

By Staff Writer

September 14, 2026

2 min read

Zach Johnson, 2005 PGA Championship winner, on the PGA Tour Champions circuit

Key takeaways

Zach Johnson shot a final-round 66 to win the Sanford International at 11-under, one shot ahead of Ben Crane.
The victory was Johnson's fifth PGA Tour Champions title of 2026, worth $330,000 and pushing his season earnings to nearly $3 million.
Jay Jurecic, a 56-year-old former middle school math teacher, shared the 36-hole lead with Johnson before a 1-over 71 dropped him to a tie for eighth at 6-under.
Jurecic's week, his fourth PGA Tour Champions start, was worth $63,067.
Johnson is tied with Stewart Cink for the tour lead with five wins apiece this season.

Zach Johnson closed with a 66 on Sunday to win the Sanford International at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, finishing at 11-under par to hold off Ben Crane, who also shot 66, by one stroke.

How did Jay Jurecic's bid end?

Jurecic, a Monday qualifier making just his fourth PGA Tour Champions start, had shared the 36-hole lead with Johnson after a career-low 65 on Saturday. He opened Sunday with a birdie but could not sustain it, playing his final round in 1-over 71 with two bogeys against a lone birdie to finish tied for eighth at 6-under. It was still the best week of his senior career: Jurecic taught middle school math for 21 years at West Iron County Public Schools in Michigan's Upper Peninsula before resigning at age 51 to chase professional golf, having never played high school or college golf. He called the weekend a "dream come true." He was seeking to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the tour since Tommy Gainey at the 2025 Constellation Furyk & Friends.

What does the win mean for Johnson's season?

The win was Johnson's fifth of the year in 13 starts, matching Stewart Cink's tour-leading total set across 15 starts. Both are also chasing the PGA Tour Champions rookie wins record of seven, set by Bruce Fleisher in 1999, and sit 1-2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Johnson's rookie season began with a win in his Champions debut in March. Seven events remain on the 2026 calendar, including three playoff events.