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Muskegon
native Caleb Johnson captured the 68th Florida Open after posting a
tournament total of 12-under par 204 at The Bonita Bay Club in Naples, FL on July
18-20. Johnson’s rounds of 68-71-65 gave him a two shot victory over second
place finishers Matt Borchert of Windermere, FL and Tyler Hock of Ocala, FL who
both finished at 206.
With the victory, Johnson follows another Muskegon native, Colby Beckstrom, who won the trophy in 2005.
To
say that Caleb Johnson knows how to take advantage of an opportunity is an
understatement. Johnson, who works as a cart-guy at Ocala National was the first-alternate
after failing in his qualifying attempt on June 30th.
Just
one week ago Johnson got the call that he would have a spot in the field when
his GM at Ocala National, who was exempt, had to withdraw.
“It’s
the biggest victory I’ve won by far,” said the 22-year old Johnson who graduated
from Western Michigan Christian in 2010. “I moved to Florida nine months ago to
work on my game and give it a go as a professional golfer.”
“It
means a lot obviously, that’s why I moved down here,” Johnson said. “I wanted
to focus on golf while I’m really into it. At this point, I wanted to see if I
can make a career out of it. It’s a big confidence booster and, hopefully, this
will open up some doors for me.”
After
posting a two-round total of 139, Johnson found himself in the final pairing just
three shots off Hock’s overnight lead.
After cutting
Hock’s lead to two-shots- what happened on the final seven holes for Johnson
was pretty special. Johnson would put together a string of four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15 and cap it off with a final birdie on No. 18 for a final
round-65 as he claimed his first professional victory. Along with the trophy came a
$12,000 dollar check.
Johnson’s
name on the trophy goes alongside such greats as Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Bruce
Fleisher, John Huston, Dudley Hart and Bart Bryant who have used this
tournament as a stepping-stone to the PGA Tour. Johnson said he hopes to take
the next step on the NGA mini-tour.
