Libby's Johnston leads Big I National Championship golf tournament

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Ryggs Johnston shot a 3-under-par 67 on Tuesday to move into the lead at the 47th annual Trusted Choice® Big “I” National Championship golf tournament at the Prairie Dunes Country Club.

Johnston had the best round of the day to sit at 139 after 36 holes. The Libby High School freshman opened with a 72 on Monday, which was the third best round of the day.

“I played better today, made some putts and I had a lot of good shots,” Johnston said.

“I hit a lot of fairways.”

He had four birdies on the front nine Tuesday and two more on the back side. He bogeyed the first hole and double bogeyed the par 5 17th.

“I played pretty good the whole day except for (hole) 17,” he said.

“But I made some putts on the other holes to make up for that.”

Johnston dropped a 40-foot putt from just off the green on No. 9. His other highlight was his tee shot on the par 3 15th, which landed a foot away from the hole.

“It’s a links course,” he said.

“It’s challenging. If you don’t hit the ball straight, it will get you. I hit the ball pretty good today.”

Johnston has a 1-shot lead on Padgett Wells of Wichita, Kansas. Wells shot 71 on Monday and followed with a 69 for a 140 score.

Bill Ramage of Dallas, Texas, is third, 68-73—141. Ramage topped the leader board after Monday’s session.

Par for the 6,818 yard layout is 70.

“I’d rather be in front (than trailing after 36 holes),” Johnston said.

“You want to shoot as well as you can.

“I’m hitting the ball pretty good,” he added.

“If I can keep it up, I feel I have a good shot (at winning it).”

The top 54 boys and 27 girls made the cut for the final two days.

Teigan Avery of Kalispell shot 87-88—175. The cutline for girls was 158.

Haley Thiele of Wahoo, Nebraska, 67-75—142, leads the field. She has a 2-shot edge on Dominique Galloway of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Galloway shot 72 both days.

This tournament is the third oldest junior event in the U.S., attracting players this year from 41 states and two Canadian provinces — British Columbia and Ontario. All participants qualified for nationals at earlier events.

Johnston competed in this tournament two years ago when he was 13.

“Not very good,” he said of that performance. “I didn’t hit the ball very far, the course was long and that was not a good combination.”