Somewhere deep within the whitewashed walls of the Augusta National clubhouse, Hootie Johnson is smiling.

The former club chairman, replaced last spring by Billy Payne and the man who, in 2001, set about the task of reinforcing a course that was no longer a match for the modern player’s arsenal and in danger of becoming an obsolete drive-pitch-and-putt, will be feeling justly proud of how the monster he created repelled the best players in the world, allowing not a single one of them to finish under par.

It needed a little help from the weather, perhaps — not a drop of rain fell, meaning firm and fast playing surfaces; temperatures never really got much higher than 60°, and the tormenting breeze didn’t stop swirling until the back nine yesterday — but there’s little doubt the changes Johnson made, most of them criticized by people who would rather have seen him introduce a less explosive Masters ball than have the character of the course altered, were thoroughly vindicated.

That the winning score, 289 — one over par — equaled the highest ever was significant, but it’s not difficult to make a golf course, well, difficult. Just ask the USGA. A few rock-hard greens, 15-yard wide fairways, and thigh-high rough and, hey, presto.

Of greater importance, to millions of TV viewers at least, was that despite the tough scoring conditions, yesterday afternoon was typically enthralling, edge-of-the-seat stuff that will have aroused the interest of countless youngsters all around the world, youngsters who would have heard the story of Zach Johnson, a man who started out on innocuous mini-tours, first coming to the Masters as a spectator in 2001 and now, just six years later, overcoming the great Tiger Woods with a superb final round of 69 to win by two.

Johnson surely couldn’t win at the revamped Augusta National. At 7,445 yards, it was simply too long for the 157th longest driver on the PGA Tour. And yet with an average drive throughout the four days of just 265 yards (the longest he hit all week measured only 276 yards), Johnson won his first major championship in impressive fashion. He enjoyed few moments of outrageously good fortune, if any, and he certainly didn’t back into it, birdieing the 13th, 14th, and 16th holes and making two solid pars on the closing holes.

His putting was sound — 112 putts, for an average of 1.56 putts per green in regulation — but then it usually is (14th on tour). Perhaps more noteworthy was the 80.36% of fairways he found, compared with the 55.36% that Tiger hit, a figure that blows the theory that in this day and age short and straight has no chance against obscenely long but wayward clean out of the water. Of course, longer hitters thrive at Augusta and will come out on top more often than not. But when a puff-ball hitter can manage his game as efficiently as Johnson, then a green jacket is still, evidently, up for grabs.

Tiger’s driving stats were of no great surprise. What was shocking, however, was that despite starting the final round just one behind Stuart Appleby, there was a commonly held perception this wasn’t going to be his day, or 13th major. In the fourth round of last year’s PGA Championship at Medinah, Woods took control early and turned the remainder of the round into a procession. Yesterday, however, the confident strut was missing, the look of complete control curiously absent.

Frankly, his swing looked awful. That’s to say it looked better than that of the vast majority of golfers alive, or dead, but compared to the sweet, recurring, harmonious motion he used to such great effect in the second half of last year and in his few appearances this year, it looked strangely incoherent at times and out of sync. He was clearly struggling to find any tempo, and thus lost countless tee shots to the right. As a result, he found just 59.72% of the greens in regulation.

There are two ways to look at Tiger’s performance. One is that only a player of his immense talent, class and mental fortitude could battle his swing all week and still finish second (much like Phil Mickelson did at the U.S. Open last year), something he should be encouraged by and of which he should be proud. The other is that he lost, and not the Shark Shootout or Skins Game but a major championship, one that he led after a birdie at the long 2nd. And that will madden him more than missing any cut or failing to contend at all.

It will be very interesting to see Tiger’s reaction. Many will also be curious to see how Billy Payne reacts to last week’s events. One suspects plans for a Masters ball will be shelved, for the time being at least. After an average round during the week of 75.88, there really should be no need for one.