Rozner: Justin Thomas' caddie knows all about the Presidents Cup

The search for the common element is constant in sports, the need to find the center of all variables, the middle of the elusive Venn diagram.

When golf worlds collide this week, as the International Team takes on Team USA in the Presidents Cup, there is a shared multiple standing just off the putting surface.

It's a tournament that has been historically lopsided, but the 2015 version in South Korea came down to the final hole the final match. Bill Haas earned the deciding point for his father, captain Jay Haas.

This year threatens to be as good and there's one man in the middle of it, one who has seen these team events from both sides and all possible angles: veteran caddie Jimmy Johnson.

Consider that the captains this week are Steve Stricker (Team USA) and Nick Price (International Team).

Johnson caddied for Price from 1997-2003 and saw three Presidents Cups from the International side. He also caddied for Stricker from 2008-2015, seeing three from the Team USA side.

Johnson was on the winning side each time with Stricker, as the International Team has only won once and tied once in 11 competitions.

But Johnson was with Price when the Internationals took the Cup in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

"Nick beat David Duval in singles when David was No. 1 in the world," Johnson remembers. "That was the winning point the only time the International Team won."

And Johnson was with Price during the famous tie in 2003 in South Africa when - after three playoff holes between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els - captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player shook hands in the dark and called it a night.

"A lot of people think it was the best Presidents Cup ever," Johnson said with a smile. "Tiger was No. 1 in the world and Ernie was No. 3, and they battled like crazy, making putt after putt. It was the first sudden death in that tournament."

Tied after Sunday singles were complete, Woods and Els were chosen by their captains to decide the tournament.

"Tiger beat him pretty good early in the day (in singles) and now here's Ernie in his home country in the playoff," Johnson said. "They go three holes and Tiger makes a bomb in the dark to put it on Ernie, which Jack said was the greatest putt he ever saw.

"Ernie had about 8 or 10 feet and he made his. Unbelievable. It was in the dark. They decided to share the Cup. It was a great moment for golf.

"And I was lucky enough to be there."

Johnson will have a front-row seat again this week - at Liberty National overlooking Manhattan - as he's now on the bag for major winner and FedEx Cup champ Justin Thomas, watching his former bosses Stricker and Price captain the two teams.

"Nick and Steve are two of the nicest and classiest people you could ever meet in your life. They've won every award there is for class on the PGA Tour," Johnson said. "Stricker's a quiet guy, but one of the most competitive guys out there. So is Nick Price.

"Nick got to No. 1 in world and Stricker got to No. 2, and you don't get there in the world rankings without having that fire to want to win.

"Now, I get to be at the Presidents Cup with Justin, who's No. 4 in the world and he's only 24, so it's kind of come full circle for me."

There's no money at stake in these team events and yet everyone involved, even the caddies, are desperate to win.

"I was at Valhalla in '08 (with Stricker) when the U.S. won the Ryder Cup and 2012 at Medinah when we were on the wrong side," Johnson said, "and I can tell you that these guys care a lot about winning.

"It's just such a great experience. You don't get to spend time with the other guys that much on the road.

"Now, everybody's in the same room during these team events. It's pretty cool because you get to see guys in a different light, get to know who they are a little bit.

"People used to say that the American team didn't care, but it's not true. I've been in those rooms. They want to win."

Johnson has seen the best of it in victory, and the worst of it in defeat. He was on the bag for Stricker at Medinah when the veteran went 0-4 as a captain's pick. He was unable to make anything down the stretch and had to watch singles foe Martin Kaymer make the tournament-winning putt on the 18th green to finish the Miracle at Medinah.

"It was hard to take. He was really hurt and I felt so bad for him," Johnson said. "He was such a great putter historically."

Johnson, a Dallas native and former college golfer, had knocked around on the South African Tour for 17 years when he put down the clubs and picked up Price's bag, which is how he wound up on the other side of this matchup.

"It wasn't that strange because I had been playing the South African tour for so long. I was just doing my job," Johnson laughed. "Now, I've been on the American side so long it might be a little awkward.

"I just feel lucky to have been with so many great players and to have seen so much great golf."

Once again this week, Jimmy Johnson will have the best seat in the house.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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