AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As if history needed a little reminder, Zach Johnson took a step out of his own shadow and proved that more than just corn is grown in Iowa.

Not only did he rise to considerable new heights in a setting where memories are carved and legends are born, he did so in an unflinching manner with the world's best player all but sitting on his shoulders and breathing down his back.

"I don't know when it first hit me, probably a few weeks after the fact," Johnson said the other day on the phone, getting ready to make his way to a title defense even he never thought plausible. "I had an off week and I kind of sat down with my family and I was like, 'You gotta be kidding me. Did this really happen?' "

They might not grow them big in Iowa, but they grow them with heart and nerve and guile. Johnson, all of 5 feet 10, 160 pounds, stood as tall as the Georgia pines and won his first major title last April at the Masters, employing a methodical yet productive game plan and charging to the finish with three birdies on the final six holes, a flurry reminiscent of the days when Johnson used to watch other back-nine charges at the Augusta National Golf Club on television.

Johnson's winning score -- 1-over 289 -- tied for the highest in Masters history, but it is likely nobody will remember that, nor is it of any consequence to the 32-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They might not even remember the deft chip to save par at the 72nd hole, a perfectly executed shot to 2 feet that preserved his two-shot victory.

"If they want to forget about it, that's OK," Johnson said. "I certainly remember it."

What will be remembered, though, is the manner in which Johnson won, the way he played David to the Goliath that is Tiger Woods -- a biblical analogy Johnson would use to describe what transpired Easter Sunday, 2007, the day he held off the No. 1 player in the world and prevented Woods from winning his fifth green jacket.

"There are times, even recently, where it's still hard to believe, you still kind of pinch yourself over what transpired," Johnson said. "It's great to win, it's great to be a part of that fraternity, to be a part of history at the Masters. And to get a win at Augusta in the Tiger era certainly makes it that much more special."

Almost immediately, Johnson's Herculean performance conjured memories of another player from Iowa, Jack Fleck, who also stunned the golfing world in 1955 when he won the U.S. Open in a playoff. Like Johnson, Fleck beat the best player in the world, Ben Hogan, who was also his idol. Fleck shot 69 in the playoff to beat Hogan, who shot 72. Coincidentally, Johnson shot 69 and Woods 72 in the final round.

Not even Johnson, with just one PGA Tour victory in his career, envisioned that.

"No, I didn't," he said. "I felt good about my game, but that's really all I had. I didn't expect to win, but most times when I play well I don't expect much. To have expectations can be detrimental, at least for me.

"I expect myself to play well and compete at a high level. But to expect to finish top-this or top-that, that's nothing I want to get into. I played hard; I prepared well; I had a good game plan."

It's all starting to boil again for Johnson -- the memories, the chills, even the attention from the media. The 72nd Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, and Johnson will make the drive down Magnolia Lane as the defending champion, a title he wears with much pride but one that will carry little impact as he attempts to do what he did last year -- keep Woods, who is at his dominating best, from winning another green jacket.

Woods has won three Masters since 2001, four since 1997. Phil Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world, has won two green jackets in the past four years. Between them, Woods and Mickelson have combined to win five of the past seven Masters, a stronghold mindful of the days when Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer combined to win 10 green jackets in their careers. Based on recent performance, there is little evidence to refute that this year's champion will be someone other than the top two players in the world.

Of course, that's what everyone thought last year, too. Until Johnson took control.

"The last couple months leading up to [the Masters], the chaos has kind of come back," Johnson said. "But it's all good stuff, all stuff prompted by our win there. I think if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a second of it. I hope I have these issues next year, too."

He might, if he can execute the game plan he employed to perfection last year -- choosing to lay up on the par-5s at Augusta, even the accessible ones on the back nine. Johnson played the par-5s in 11-under for the week, using his wedges to attack pins when the opportunity presented itself and put himself in good position to make birdies. In the process, he showed that players who aren't long hitters can still navigate the Bunyanesque layout at Augusta National, which has been expanded more times than John Daly's belt.

"My game revolves around my wedges and my putting, and if I can get myself on the appropriate side of the fairway with the appropriate pin and I can hit quality shots, I can give myself a makeable birdie putt," Johnson said. "It's all about where not to hit it there. I'm starting to understand that. There are times where I kind of have to go for it. I don't mind doing that. I've done it before. It just depends on the situation."

Johnson didn't use his Masters victory just to dress up his resume. Instead, he rode the momentum to another victory six weeks later at the AT&T Classic in Duluth, Ga. For good measure, he finished second to Woods in the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Curiously, there is something about the Georgia clay that brings out the best in Johnson: All three of his PGA Tour victories have come in the state of Georgia.

"I don't think I needed to justify [the Masters], but winning a tournament six weeks later, from a confidence and momentum standpoint, it was big," Johnson said. "I was able to feed off it and fortunately get another win.

"Our talent on tour is so deep, to get any sort of win, or even a top-three [finish] or a top-five, is really good playing. There are only so many phenoms out here and I don't put myself in that category by any stretch."

For one Sunday in April, he was.