'Boring golf' style marks Johnson out as Celtic Manor natural

Rock-steady Zach Johnson takes great pride in playing "boring golf", an attribute which could make him one of the trump cards for the United States at the Ryder Cup.

The former US Masters champion is one of the straightest hitters in the game and is expected to play in all five matches this week on a rain-sodden Celtic Manor layout where the rough is thick and long.

"My game is fairly obvious," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday, as rain pounded the roof of the media centre by the first tee. "It's not that flashy. It's pretty boring. I prefer boring golf.

"I drive the ball pretty straight, hit my irons pretty straight on the green, make a few putts and my short game is decent."

Johnson's accurate game would appear to be ideally suited to the Twenty Ten course where rain has been forecast for the first and third days of competition on Friday and Sunday.

"The rough here is very thick and it's penal but I don't mind that," the 34-year-old said.

"Am I a good wet weather player? I'm very familiar with it. On tour we are in [weather] delays all the time."

Johnson made his only previous Ryder Cup appearance at the K Club in Ireland in 2006 when appalling wet weather was a significant factor before Europe won the trophy for a third successive time.

"That year the Europeans made a lot of putts, and putts when they needed them, and that's really what it boiled down to," said Johnson, who won his only major title at the 2007 Masters.

"It certainly didn't work in our favour unfortunately but we have a different team this year."

Johnson's own putting has been highly touted by no less a figure than world No1, and Ryder Cup team mate Tiger Woods.

"I've heard Tiger say that," Johnson said. "I think I am a pretty good putter, I'm not going to deny that. I think I've made a lot of pretty big putts."

Johnson, who won his seventh PGA Tour title at the Colonial tournament in May, especially relished the challenge of putting with a tournament or a matchplay victory on the line.

"Coming down the stretch, I prefer putting the pressure on my putter," he said. "I like that. I want that. It doesn't matter the length. It doesn't matter the situation.

"If pressure can be put on my putter, I don't say I like my chances, but I certainly relish that opportunity."