The champion from Augusta is keen to avoid one-major syndrome, writes Philip Reid

First there came Zach Johnson. Then Angel Cabrera.

And, after that, Padraig Harrington.

As the man who started the sequence of first-time major winners in 2007, and the first of them to put the date for the Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda next October into his diary, Johnson has had more time to adapt to his new status as a major champion but believes he remains as motivated as ever.

"Motivation is not hard for me, to be honest. I'm very self-motivated. I love golf, but I can motivate myself to play ping-pong in a matter of seconds. I like competition, that's what drives me," said Johnson, a 175 to 1 shot when he won the green jacket at Augusta back in April.

The following week in the Heritage at Hilton Head, it hit home when he was introduced on the first tee as the Masters champion: "I'd forgotten about it and I didn't know it was coming until they announced it. I got goosebumps. It was pretty neat then, and it remains very, very cool. To have that title for this year is very, very special."

After his breakthrough win at Augusta, Johnson reset his goals. The US PGA is one of them.

"I'm ready to get up for it, I want to win," said the American, who described the aftermath of his Masters win as "overwhelming chaos . . . it was controlled at a point, but it was just hard to get through everything.

"The amount of stuff that came to our plate, what we had to go through was mind-boggling. They were all very worthy and valid requests, but it was just difficult to deal with them all. I wouldn't want to change one second of it."

As for the fact there have been three maiden winners of majors this season, Johnson claimed too much is being made of that: "The bottom line is that everyone is good. It doesn't matter if it is a tour event or a major, any one of the guys can win.

"It doesn't surprise me what has happened this year . . . sure, there's extreme examples, maybe like a Ben Curtis who literally got his tour card that year and went out and won the British Open. But you're going to hear more stories like that and when it comes down to it, anybody who has a good week can win (a major). It's just a matter of executing when you need to."

Johnson has come a long way quickly. His first major was the US Open at Shinnecock in 2004, one of the toughest set-ups of any major in the modern era. As regards the set-up of Southern Hills this week, he remarked, "My initial impression of the course is that it is very simple, straightforward golf . . . there's no tricks. The green complexes are great, not too big and not too small; the bunkering is fabulous. It's perfect."

With one major to his name, Johnson is anxious not to become a one-major wonder: "I think I have the game (for Southern Hills). At least I hope I do. I like the course because it is not terribly long. You don't have to overpower it, which is good for me.

"This tournament, with all that's going to be thrown at us, what with it being a major and the heat and the hills and what not, is going to require mental discipline and some pretty unbelievable courage to keep focused . . . if I can drive it well, I've got a good chance."