Libby's Johnston excelling at Arizona State
LIBBY NATIVE Ryggs Johnston, fifth from left, celebrates with his Arizona State University Sun Devil teammates Tuesday in Dallas, Texas, after they won the Trinity Forest Invitational. Johnston placed 12th overall. (Photo courtesy Arizona State University)
There haven’t been too many golfers the caliber of Libby native Ryggs Johnston to come from Montana - Kalispell’s Alice Ritzman is one - but the Lincoln County star is proving his mettle as a collegian.
The 19-year-old Johnston, a four-time Montana State individual champion for the Loggers, won the Montana Men’s State Amateur before his senior year and finished second this summer, despite battling sore ribs.
Johnston was just the second Montanan to win a fourth career high school state title.
Now a freshman at Arizona State, Johnston is proving a bigger stage is not an issue for him.
In the recently completed Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas, Texas, Johnston was tied for 12th with a three-round 210, 3 under par, to help the Sun Devils to its second straight team title in the 2019-20 season.
Arizona State is still undefeated at 2-0 after winning the Maui Jim Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona, Sept. 15.
Johnston wasn’t in the starting five for that tournament, but he did place third in his first collegiate event at neighboring Desert Forest in a 36-player individual event.
The Sun Devils are off until heading to South Bend, Indiana for the Fighting Irish Classic at Notre Dame Oct. 7-8. ASU’s fall schedule concludes Oct. 20-22 in Windermere, Florida, at the Tavistock Collegiate.