Johnson also hurt himself in a tropical paradise, though it was nothing to boast about. He was in the Grand Caymans on a family holiday last week when fireworks left a trash can smoldering. He grabbed a hose and was running to the rescue, in pitch dark wearing flip-flops, when he slammed into a concrete step he didn't see and tore off his toe nail.

He tried those sandals with golf spikes when he got to Kapalua. That didn't work. For the pro-am Wednesday, he went to a larger shoe and cut out the toe, but the size left him uncomfortable. The plan for Thursday was to cut out the toe of his regular golf shoes and give it his best shot.

Johnson was taking it all in stride.

He managed to make it through the pro-am because players are allowed carts. Thursday is the real test: walking a 7,400-yard course that was carved out of a mountain overlooking Maui. It's one of the longest walks of the year.


"It's a win-win," Johnson said. "Because if I play and get through this, I look like a stallion for the first time. And if I don't, I go to the pool with my kids on Maui and watch the rest of them suffer."