Johnson Captures Third Title at MGA Mid-Players' Championship

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


LAKEVILLE, Minn. – After heavy rains washed out the final round of the Minnesota Golf Association Mid-Players’ Championship Thursday at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club, Troy Johnson continued his business Friday, beating Joel B. Johnson, 4 and 3, to win his third title in six years.

Johnson, Rush Creek Golf Club, never trailed at any point during his five matches, seldom made bogey and didn’t once play the 17th or 18th holes during the tournament.

“Today I played great—I did a lot of the same that I’ve done all week. I tried to be very consistent and my putting was spot on today,” he said. “I knew [J.B. Johnson] was playing really well coming in and my goal was to not make bogeys and that was the deciding factor.”

Troy Johnson took advantage of his counterpart’s bogeys on the first and third holes Friday to take a 2-up lead amidst very soggy conditions on the course.

He carried a 2-up lead to the fifth hole where he showcased his putting by burying a swooping right-to-left 15-foot putt for birdie to go 3-up.

Both players found the green and after J.B. Johnson lagged to two feet, Johnson played a 4-foot break to the right, which ran downhill and into the center of the cup.

After both players missed the green with their approaches on seven, Joel Johnson’s 6-foot par putt rolled to the cup and stopped just short, hovering over the edge and refused to fall. Troy Johnson poured his par putt just inside the left edge of the cup to take a 4-up lead through seven.

Joel Johnson would momentarily cut into Troy Johnson’s 4-up lead on the ninth hole as both players found the green from the fairway, with Joel Johnson’s flying past the pin to 25 feet.

After Troy Johnson missed his birdie opportunity, Joel Johnson rolled in his long, right-to-left birdie, and was 3-down at the turn.

It would be all the closer J.B. Johnson would get as a double-bogey on the tenth put Troy Johnson back up by four and the two would par the next five holes, with Troy Johnson clinching the championship on the 15th hole to win, 4 and 3.

Capturing his third title in the eight years of the tournament, Johnson said the tournament format seems to be the secret to his success.

“A lot of it is match play. For me, it doesn’t seem like I make a ton of birdies all the time. At stroke play events I do okay, but this tournament just relaxes me more. The importance isn’t necessarily on score—it’s more hole by hole and I try to focus on each hole. One bad hole can take you out of a stroke play event and in match play, it’s nice to forget it and move on,” he said.

Troy Johnson has nothing but confidence and momentum after this week’s performance and was positive about his chances at the Players’ Championship, which begins Monday at Woodhill Country Club, in Wayzata, Minn.

“Last year I did not play in the Players’, but I feel really good about where my game’s at—especially going into Woodhill because the course is a lot like [Brackett’s Crossing],” he said. “The greens are a little more severe, but I hit the ball really straight this week and if I can do the same, I should have a good chance going into next week.”

It was the second finals appearance for Joel Johnson (he finished runner-up to Greg Melhus in 2010), but he struggled to find any consistency for most of the match Friday.

“It was frustrating. I battled hard but I just didn’t have it,” he said after the match. “[Troy Johnson] puts a lot of pressure on you because he doesn’t make mistakes. If I would’ve played the way I did the first couple days it would’ve been a really good match. I was around par, maybe even a little under during the first couple of rounds.”

While Troy Johnson didn’t have much trouble during matches leading up to the finals, all four of Joel Johnson’s matches were extremely close, with three of them needing to be decided in extra holes.

“They were very tiring and very exhausting,” he said of his path to the finals.“It’s a very tough tournament when you have to play 36 holes in hot and steamy conditions. Golf is a crazy game. The first couple of days I was able to go at the flag and get them tight and today nothing went my way.

“I was playing some really good golf—I expected to play well so I wasn’t surprised I made the finals. I knew I’d be a tough out. But it’s tough to go all the way, you need to play five solid rounds and I couldn’t do it.”



8TH MGA MID-PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
BRACKETT’S CROSSING COUNTRY CLUB
LAKEVILLE, MINN.
6,770 YARDS, PAR 71


CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Troy Johnson, Rush Creek GC, def. Joel B. Johnson, Links at Northfork, 5 and 4