Johnston finishes third in Big I tournament
<p>14 year old Ryggs Johnston of Libby wins the 14-19 yr old boys division by 4 strokes at the Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour 3 Day Elite Event. The tournament was held on the 7,000 yd Palms Course at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, AZ. Feb. 14-16. There were 31 players in his division. He shot rounds of 69-71-76 to finish even par with a 216 total.</p>
Libby’s 15-year old golf star, Ryggs Johnston continued his golf tour this summer, finishing third at the 47th annual Big “I” National Championship golf tournament at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
Johnston entered the final day of the tournament with a one-stroke lead, but couldn’t hold onto his slim lead shooting a 79 in the final round. The soon to be freshman had 6 bogeys, two double bogeys and one birdie.
Despite shooting nine-over par on the final day Johnston still finished third in the four-day tournament with a final score of 288.
Johnston shot a 72 on the first day of the tournament. He had his best round on Tuesday, when he shot 67, which was three-under par. He then shot an even par, 70 on Wednesday.
Wells Padgett of Wichita, Kan. took first place shooting a 285. Riley Griffin of Providence, R.I. finished second with a score of 286.
Johnston will be playing in the 115th annual U.S. Amateur Championship, which will be held at Olympic Fields Country Club in Illinois August 17-23. Johnston qualified for the event when he took first place at the United States Amateur Qualifier in Missoula in July. In the two-day qualifying event he shot 133 and 11 strokes under par.