May 2, 2003
NORMAN, Okla. -- Northwestern's Tom Johnson (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) has been selected by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) to play in the Fuji Xerox U.S.A. vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship this summer. The United States team, which has four women and eight men, will travel to Tochigi, Japan's Verde Sano Country Club to compete July 15-18.
Johnson has notched five top-10 finishes in 2003 and is Team U.S.A.'s sole representative from the Big Ten Conference. UCLA, Clemson and Duke all have two golfers representing the United States in the tournament. The U.S. squad will be coached by Guilford College's Jack Jensen and Virginia's Jan Mann.
Northwestern's top golfer with a 71.78 stroke average, Johnson was named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch list (top 20 collegiate golfers) earlier this spring. He captured his first collegiate win last October at the NU Windon Memorial Classic, while also leading the Wildcats to a first-place team finish.
His low round of the season came last fall when he fired a 65 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational en route to a second-place finish. Last weekend, Johnson carded a 5-under 211, landing him in third place at MSU's Bruce Fossum-Spartan Invitational.