Ryan Johnson Wins 2015 Michigan Amateur

Ryan Johnson won 3 and 1 over Kory Roberts to take the 2015 Michigan Amateur Championship Friday at Plum Hollow.

Johnson, 30-year-old club-fitter at Carl’s Golfland, had earlier escaped with a 1-up victory over 17-year-old Austin Jenner of West Branch.

Roberts, from Battle Creek, advanced to the final with a win over Highland’s Bret Quitiquit. That match lasted nineteen holes.

“I started playing golf when I was 10, started playing in the Michigan Amateur at 16 and this is why I play competitive golf, to do this,” said Johnson, a Novi resident who grew up in New Boston and last year won the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Championship, his first major amateur title.

“To get this win on top of winning the GAM last year is really special. I didn’t have any expectations this week. I wasn’t playing that well. I shot 78 on Monday, but then shot 70 on Tuesday, made match play and it was a day-to-day thing.”

Both players admitted fatigue set in during the championship match. They routinely missed fairways with tee shots after hitting the majority of them through the week and scrambling for par became critical.

“Ryan made the big par putts he needed to make, the ones I missed,” said Roberts, a 22-year-old Northwood University golfer. “My tee shots were something I could count on all week, and when I lost control of them it got tough. Hitting the greens is a challenge from this rough, especially hitting over all the trees.”

Johnson, a Type 1 Diabetic since high school, said it wasn’t a factor. He was simply worn out from eight rounds of golf in five days.

“Just too many holes of golf and my legs are just gone right now,” he said. “The upper body took over and the shots showed it. I had to scramble, and I made some big par putts.”

A par save at No. 10 tied the match, a par save at No. 12 put him 1-up and then a par save at 14 put him 2-up. He won the 17th hole despite tree trouble with another par because Roberts was in the trees twice. That closed out the match 3 and 1.

“At that point, I just wanted to keep making pars,” Johnson said. “You want to make birdies, but you are so tired that pars become a real challenge.”

Johnson was elated to accept the Staghorn Trophy that dates to the early days of the 104-year-old tournament.

“Some of the names on it are amazing,” he said. “And Plum Hollow has a great history, too. Being part of that is pretty cool.”