Libby Grad and Pro Golfer Ryggs Johnston Wins Australian Open Golf Tournament
The win earned him a $209,000 payout, and moved him up more than 600 spots in the World Golf Rankings
By Mike Kordenbrock
Ryggs Johnston, a 24-year-old professional golfer and 2019 graduate of Libby High School, won the 107th Australian Open golf tournament last weekend with a score of 269.
That finish of 18 strokes under par gave him a three-stroke margin of victory to edge out Australian golfer Curtis Luck. Over the course of the four-day competition, formally dubbed the ISPS Handa Australian Open, Johnston finished with scores of 65-68-68-68.
Asked during a broadcast interview shortly after his win if he had thought winning it all was possible when he arrived for the tournament, Johnston said that “to be honest, probably not.”
“I turned up pretty tired already from all the travel and Q School (qualifying school) and everything, didn’t get a practice round here with the weather, so I didn’t really have any expectations, which probably helped me in the end,” Johnston said.
The win makes Johnston the first American to hoist the Stonehaven Cup since Jordan Spieth in 2016, and just the 11th American ever. Other American winners include Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gene Srazen.
“It’s just really cool to be in group that’s with those guys,” Johnston said, according to the Associated Press. “And I’m just pretty honored to be able to put my name on it now, and I’ll cherish this moment forever.”
Johnston said that he had gotten texts from friends back in Libby saying that the whole town was watching.
“It’s just really cool to have that kind of support. And just kind of the thing that you don’t see much other than from small towns like I’m from,” Johnston said.
Golf Australia, which oversees the tournament, reports that this was Johnston’s first win in a four-round event since he was in high school and that he had gained DP World Tour (the current name for the European World Tour) status just a few weeks ago through the tour’s official qualifying school. He also shared that his girlfriend’s dad had caddied for him the week of the Australian Open.
Heading into the tournament, Ryggs was the No. 954-ranked golfer in the world. With the dust settled, he’s now the No. 316-ranked golfer in the world in the Official World Golf Rankings. The tournament will pay out $209,000 to Johnston for his first-place finish. It also qualified him for the 153rd British Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. Johnston’s next competition is the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which will be played in South Africa from Dec. 5 through Dec. 8 and has a total purse of $6 million.
Johnston took the lead on the final day of the Australian competition, which was played in Melbourne from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1. As the AP reported, he began with an eagle, and had a score of 35 heading into the back nine. The last stretch of the tournament saw the off-and-on wind and rain intensifying at times, according to Golf Australia, which described his play as taking “serious grit.” On the back nine, Johnston made three more birdies and finished out the final hole with a par.
“Getting a win and hopefully getting into more tournaments and just knowing that I’ve secured pretty legit status now, it’s great,” Johnston said, according to Golf Australia.
Speaking on the phone just after packing up a hunting camp “in the middle of nowhere,” Johnston’s former high school head coach, Dann Rohrer, said that the win showed his former player’s ability to deal with difficult situations.
“He has a great ability to deal with pressure. Pressure doesn’t really bother Ryggs. That’s the thing, you win four state championships, you can deal with pressure,” Rohrer said.
Rohrer said he texted Johnston the night before the final round of the tournament to remind him that confidence and belief come from within, not from what happens outside. Rohrer said he and his hunting buddies set up their wall tent with a satellite feed so they could watch Johnston play, and that a celebration ensued afterwards. Having known Johnston since he was about 5 years old, Rohrer said that he came to expect this kind of success from the golf phenom, but that he didn’t think it would happen this early in his career.
“This is a big stage. He beat champions that won huge tournaments, you know? I saw it coming, that this was going to happen, and I’m not surprised. I’m pretty tickled that it happened this quickly. He just showed so many things in these last couple of tournaments. The things he really needed — the composure, the control,” Rohrer said. “I’m not really surprised at anything Ryggs does. I’ve seen him do some things that I’ve never really seen a high school kid do before.”
