There was something amiss about last year’s NCAA championships. After a four-year period that saw the Northwestern men’s golf team qualify for the tournament each season and post three top-10 finishes, no NU players could be found in the 2001 field. Not even former national champion and then-NU senior Luke Donald.
This season NU nearly experienced the same disappointment, but thanks to sophomore Tom Johnson, the Wildcats avoided it.
Johnson placed fifth at last week’s regional qualifier, earning himself one of six individual bids to the national tournament. The 2002 NCAA championships start today at Ohio State’s Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio.
Johnson’s 3-under 213 at the NCAA regionals was one of the best performances of his career.
Up to that point, Johnson had played inconsistently and well below his expectations, he said.
Although this is the sophomore’s first trip to nationals, he said he’s not worried about the pressure.
“I’m just treating it like any other tournament I would play individually,” Johnson said. “I’m just glad I’m going. I’m usually more relaxed because I don’t have my teammates depending on me.”
NU coach Pat Goss said Johnson is used to playing in pressure situations. That should serve him well at NCAAs, which arguably has the second-best field of any amateur tournament in the country next to the U.S. Amateur.
Johnson has been solid in practice, mostly concentrating on his short game, Goss said. Last week, he practiced with former NU golfers and current PGA tour members Jess Daley and Donald to adjust to the higher level of competition he expects at nationals.
“I let them beat up on me a little bit,” Johnson said. “They’re like sparring partners.”
Toughening up might come in handy over the four-day event – regular-season tournaments are only three days.
Although the four-day format will pose a difficult adjustment for the players, Goss said it is a truer test of golf.
“With a four-day tournament, there is just a better chance that the best golfer will come out on top,” he said.
This will not be Johnson’s first trip to the Scarlet Golf Course, as NU played there earlier this season in the Kepler Intercollegiate. In that event, Johnson opened with an even-par 71, but he shot a second-round 80 to finish 44th in the rain-shortened event.
But the course might play differently than when Johnson first saw it, Goss said.
This week, the Scarlet Golf Course is set up to put a premium on ball striking and accuracy, an environment that Goss said should favor his pupil. The rough is thicker and higher than it would be for the U.S. Open – a tournament notorious for its wicked rough – and should eliminate a shoot-out type event like the 2001 NCAA championships, in which 12-under was the winning score.
“The closer to par the (winning score) is, the better off Tom will be,” he said.
Goss reiterated Johnson’s need to stay relaxed, noting the sophomore’s success when he manages to do so.
If all the factors pan out in Johnson’s favor and he stays calm throughout the four-day tournament, NU could see a resurgence of its success in its previous two trips to the championships. NU golfers posted three top-ten individual finishes during that stretch.
It will all come down to Johnson keeping steady through 72 holes, Goss said.
“In reality, it’s just a golf course,” he said. “Tom has a lot of experience in big, big events.”
