Pine Prairie native Johnson commits to LSU

(Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the Episcopal High school newspaper.)

A great 2014 for former Pine Prairie golfer culminates in a commitment to play golf for LSU. After winning her 2nd consecutive state high school golf championship in early May, Julia finished the year in impressive fashion.
Bigger tournaments and stiffer competition is what Johnson knew she wanted and needed, and that is what she geared the remainder of the year towards. Johnson played two AJGA( American Junior Golf Association) qualifiers and won both.
Winning these qualifiers opened the door for entry into the AJGA events. The AJGA is widely considered the major leagues of junior golf for ages 12 to 18. Everyone from Tiger, to Phil, to Jordan Spieth came through the AJGA ranks.
Johnson won her first AJGA qualifier shooting 71(-1) and finished 8th in her first AJGA tournament. One bad hole on day two proved to be too much to overcome. Armed with the confidence that she could compete with and beat the best collegiate bound golfers in the country, Johnson entered the David Toms AJGA event in Shreveport. Johnson shot 71(-1) and won the qualifier. This field was stacked with signees from Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma State, TCU, LSU and other topped ranked school.
However the young Johnson was not intimidated. Johnson shot 72-73-74 from a distance of 6380 yards and finished 2nd. The top 3 finish gave Julia a full exemption for the 2015 AJGA season. After shooting 70(-2) 68(-4) in New Orleans and winning the Arrowhead event by 30 strokes, Johnson headed to West Virginia for the BIG I tournament.
This tournament consisted of a field of 58 of the nations very best junior golfers from all 50 states. This tournament was held on the Pete Dye National course and was played from a distance of 6450 yards. Johnson’s four day total was good enough for a very impressive 9th place finish.
In addition, Julia had the low round of the tournament by any golfer, shooting a 69(-3) on the final day. Johnson also won the Louisiana Junior amateur title in June at Money Hill CC in Mandeville shooting 70(-2) 74. Later that month Johnson anchored team Louisiana in a win in the tri-state championship.
The Tri-state championship is a Ryder cup event between Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. The cup came down to the final match of the day. Luckily for team Louisiana, Johnson was the anchor. Johnson birdied 17 to pull ahead and closed out the match on the 18th sealing the cup for Louisiana. After Tri-State,
Julia competed in and won several tournaments prior to taking a little break in November. In late December, Johnson competed in the All State Sugar Bowl tournament held at English Turn golf course. Johnson was the favorite in a field of 28 girls from 9 different states. Johnson opened the tournament with 3 bogeys and a double through 5 holes.
This did not rattle Johnson as she steadied the ship and shot 5 under over the next 13 holes and finished even par for the day. Johnson shot 73 on day two and won by 11 strokes, thus ending 2014 in style. Johnson now faced some tough decisions. With the impressive 2014 campaign,
Johnson was now being heavily recruited by such schools as LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Illinois, Virginia, Baylor, Tulsa, Tulane, Michigan State, and numerous others. Johnson took a visit to LSU and was on the sidelines for the Alabama game. Following that visit, she went to Georgia and was on the sidelines for the Goergia/Auburn game.
While in Georgia, Julia decided that there was no place like Tiger stadium and LSU. Julia and her dad showed up at the LSU practice facility and surprised Coach Karen Bonsen with a cake that read “Proud to be a tiger.”
Coach Bonson was surprised and very happy to land one of the countries most sought after recruits. Julia recently played in a boy’s high school tournament at Beau Chene. There were 84 boys, many of whom had signed scholarships. Julia played from the same distance under the same rules, with no advantages. Julia played from 6810 yards. and amazed everyone there.
She finished in 6th place but had the lowest round of the tournament the second day shooting 71(-1), besting boys who had signed with Ole Miss, UL, UAB, and other small schools. This was a challenge for Julia, as she had never played from this distance. By the end of the round, club members and the club pro was following her and could not believe what they were witnessing.
Julia continues to work hard every day and is eager to try to win her 3rd consecutive High school state championship in early May. In addition Johnson has a full AJGA schedule that will pit her against the nations very best juniors.
Julia will leave for Georgia to play in the Wells Fargo AJGA in mid April. Johnson’s goal is to climb high enough in the Polo rankings to earn a spot on the 2016 Junior Ryder cup team and compete at Valhala.
In addition to working with her swing coach, Rob Noel, Julia is also working with a strength and fitness trainer, Kolby Toulier. Kolby is also currently working with pro golfers John Peterson and Andrew Loupe and numerous pro- football and baseball players.
Julia remains very humble and is thankful for the support that she has received. She continues to credit God, her coaches, and hard work for her success.