Ryggs Johnston, Jonny Cielak Win 18th Flathead Beacon Pro-Scratch Invitational
The duo finished with a score of 127 across two days of play in the better-ball tournament
By Lauren Frick
Pro golfer and Libby High grad Ryggs Johnston, playing with amateur partner Jonny Cielak, notched a first place finish Tuesday at the 18th annual Flathead Beacon Pro-Scratch Invitational.
The duo finished with a score of 127 across two days of play in the better-ball tournament, with Johnston finding the top of the leaderboard at the invitational for a second year in a row.
Johnston and Cielak narrowly edged out the duo of Colton Stodghill and Joe Potkonjak, who took second place with a score of 128. Third place honors went to Marcus Geer and Kade Mathner, who ended the competition with a score of 129.
The competition, featuring 36 teams this year, kicked off Monday afternoon at Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork, before continuing on Tuesday at the Northern Pines Golf Club in Kalispell. More than $20,000 in prize money was dealt out over the course of the two-day invitational.
Being on the course alongside Cielak was a familiar feeling for Johnston — the former Libby High School and Arizona State golf standout — as Cielak holds the title of caddie for Johnston during his DP World Tour play. Last July, Johnston became the first man from Montana to compete in an Open Championship, doing so with Cielak, a fellow Libby native, by his side at the British Open.
“The top four players are all like … within a year in age of each other, and they all grew up playing junior golf together,” Michael Wynne, Eagle Bend’s director of golf, said in reference to the invitational’s top two duos. “I’ve known those kids for so long, and watching them when they were just waist-high to me, and now they’re grownup and just hitting bombs off the tee.”