Libby’s Johnston qualifies for US Amateur Championship

ANACONDA — Three golfers at the 36-hole qualifier held Tuesday at Old Works Golf Course played well enough to make the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship in August.

What Libby’s Ryggs Johnston did went a little bit beyond that.

The Arizona State golfer shot rounds of 64 and 67 to take medalist honors by six strokes. His total of 131 was 13-under par on a course that played over 7,600 yards. He played the first nine holes in 30 strokes, making birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 5-8 to make the turn at 6-under.

Johnston then shot 34 on the back, then came back with his five more birdies on the second circuit to cap a bogey-free day.

“I started off well, hit it to two feet on two for a tap in, to get things going,” Johnston said. “I kept hitting it close, I maybe made one putt outside 10 feet, so giving myself a lot of kick-in opportunities helped.

“On five I made my longest putt of the day (from 17 feet), I two putted for birdie on six, chipped in on seven and was cruising at that point. Today felt easy, but it’s never easy playing 36 holes in a day, but I’ve learned a lot through college events this year.”

The U.S. Amateur Championship is Aug. 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club, in the greater Denver area.

This will be Johnston’s fifth trip to the Amateur; he previously qualified in 2015, 2018 and 2020-21. In 2021 he advanced to match play.

Tuesday marked Johnston’s third time he qualified at a Montana site. In 2015 and 2018 he competed at the Ranch Club in Missoula.

Johnston graduated this spring but has one more year of eligibility at ASU. The 2018 Montana State Amateur champion has a busy summer playing the Southern Amateur, Western Amateur and now the U.S. Amateur.

Also qualifying were Jacob Tarkany of Scottsdale, Arizona (68-69—137) and Cooper Humphreys of Kelowna, British Columbia (72-67—139). Tarkany golfs for Ohio State and Humphreys is in a gap year before returning to Oregon State.

“I liked the course, it was a super fun layout, I liked the slag bunkers,” Humphreys said. “This is only my second 36-hole qualifier, so it was a good challenge. I was two-under through nine and then the flatstick cooled off on the back, but in the second round I figured out a few things and stayed patient. It’s a cliché, but it paid off.”

The first alternate was Garrett Endicott of San Antonio, Texas, who also opened with a 64 but shot a 76 for a total of 140.

The second alternate was Joey Lovell of Bozeman, last year’s medalist. He shot 73-67. The alternates were decided in a one-hole playoff.

Whitefish standout Billy Smith shot 1-under 143 to finish in a four-way tie for 10th. Glacier High’s Tyler Avery, who last week won the Montana State Juniors, had rounds of 70 and 78 to tie for 27th.

Golfers across 95 qualifying sites will attempt to qualify for the field of 312 players. To be eligible for 2023 U.S. Amateur qualifying, a player must have a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4 or be a professional.

Full results can be found online at www.msgagolf.org.