SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A lot of states come to mind when you think of hotbeds for golf — Arizona, California, Florida. It’s safe to say Montana is not among them.
But it was an athlete from tiny Libby, Montana, stealing the show on Saturday at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Arizona State sophomore Ryggs Johnston fired a career-best 7-under 63 in the second round at the Raptor course. It marked the best individual round of the tournament thus far and boosted the host Sun Devils (2-over, 562) into third place after 36 holes, right behind Oklahoma State (6-under, 554) and Oklahoma (1-under, 559).
That round also moved Johnston into second place on the individual leaderboard at 5-under 135 along with Clemson’s Turk Pettit, three strokes behind leader Bo Jin of Oklahoma State (8-under, 132).
“Throughout the round I didn’t hit anything super close, but I made a ton of putts and I kept hitting it on the lines I was trying to hit it at, 10 feet and just kept making them,” Johnston said. “I was in my own little world today. I felt like I was in the zone, didn’t really think about what anyone else was doing. Just tried to focus on myself.”
Johnston said Arizona State had been a dream school of his since the sixth grade. So when he got an offer to play for the Sun Devils it was a no-brainer with the weather and the ability to play year-round. He also noted the professional players that have passed through the program.
Libby is a town of about 3,000 in the northwestern corner of the state. Johnston said the town has just “two or three” stoplights and the nearest Walmart is 90 miles away. The golf season runs from late March to early October. While some may see that as a disadvantage, the ASU standout says there is a positive aspect.
One of the biggest transitions he dealt with in his move to Arizona was the availability of the sport.
“A lot more golf than I was ever used to playing. I practice a lot but not every day and not year-round, but it’s been good. I think it benefited me to not have that when I was younger because I didn’t get burned out. I always had a break to play other sports. And I was ready to go in the spring when it came to golf.”
ASU head coach Matt Thurmond said he first heard about Johnston through an article he saw about the youngster and continued to track results from other junior events.
“I saw this phenom, 13, 14-year old had won a USGA qualifier up in Montana,” he recalled. “That was the first I had heard of him. Started seeing here and there, various different national events, but he didn’t play a ton so he was still relatively unknown.”
Johnston, who has been the No. 3 player for ASU all season, may have been the talk of the tournament on Saturday but he has had other stellar showings as well. He was a first team All-Pac 12 selection after placing fourth individually at the Pac 12 Championship at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California, having finished at 12-under 276.
He started the national event with a 2-over 72 in Friday’s opening round but left little doubt when he took to the course for a second time. The Sun Devils started on the back nine and he birdied the first three holes, finishing that nine with a 5-under 30. Johnston’s blistering round consisted of nine birdies, two bogeys and seven pars.
About the only hiccup on the day was a bogey at the 475-yard, par-4 third hole.
“It was pretty good bogey on 3 because I was all over the place. It could have been a disaster,” he said.
Thurmond likes the position his team is in with a cut from 30 to 15 teams coming after Sunday’s third round. The top eight after the fourth round on Monday then advance to match-play quarterfinals.
ASU’s top two players bounced back after sub-par opening rounds. Sophomore David Puig and senior Chin An Yu both posted second rounds of 1-over 71. The 71 from Puig was especially noteworthy because his round included a double bogey as well as a quadruple bogey on the par-4 seventh. He had finished the back nine with a 3-under 32 and was still at 3-under when he got to No. 7.
Rounding out the scoring was Cameron Sisk with a 3-over 73. The score thrown out was a 4-over 74 by Mason Andersen, who was the team’s low scorer in the opening round.
Thurmond said he tries to go to the hometowns of all of his players but has yet to make it to Libby. If Johnston has another round like he did on Saturday, that could come sooner rather than later.
“I haven’t made it up there and I feel really bad about it,” he said. “I think I need to, maybe go fishing with him.”
Third round action gets underway at 6:10 a.m. with ASU scheduled to go off in the lead group. There is no admission for spectators.
