AURORA, Colo.—There was a stirring in the clubhouse. Who is this 20-year-old?
“I’m just Brady Johnson,” he said Wednesday after providing a stunning upset of medalist Aaron Goldberg in the first round of match play of the 83rd U.S. Amateur Public Links.
“I go to BYU. I live in Victoria, British Columbia in the summer,” said Johnson, a soon to be junior at BYU. “And I play a lot of golf.”
Goldberg, who became only the third medalist to be beaten in a first round match play round since 2000, could only admire such simplicity, after falling 5 and 4 to Johnson. The previous two were Mark Harrell (2007) and Isaac Jimison (2002).
“He plays solid golf,” said Goldberg. “He hits greens and makes putts. He looks pretty good to me.”
There wasn’t much more to it than what was found in Goldberg’s assessment. Johnson’s shots found greens and he sank putts when Goldberg could not.
Goldberg missed makable birdie putts on the first two holes while Johnson went 1-up by saving par and sinking a 4-foot birdie putt over the same span.
“That was big for me because I was worried he was just going to roll over me at the start and get some momentum going,” Johnson said. “I was trying to show him I was here to play.”
He said his confidence level reached its peak when he made the turn 2-up and then won No. 10 and 12. Johnson finished the match with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 15 that set his fists pumping toward a sky filled with Air Force fighter jets from nearby Buckley Air Force Base.
“The biggest putt of my day,” Johnson said.
And only slightly bigger than the 12 footer he buried Tuesday on the 10th hole and second hole of a 10-player stroke play playoff hole that got him into match play.
“That putt was pretty good too, because I didn’t think I was going to make it all,” Johnson said. “I’d been watching all afternoon and right at the end somebody had a bad last hole and I got bumped from 65th to 64th.”
However, by his own admission, there isn’t much more to him than what you see is what you get. He doesn’t find any much common linkage with any of the BYU golfers of the past—Johnny Miller, Mike Reid or Keith Clearwater and others.
“I think it’s tough to mold yourself into one of their games,” he said. “I do tend to play pretty conservative golf and hit a lot of fairways like Mike Reid would, but that’s it.”
And major upsets or high level victories to be found in his golf bag? Don’t bother to look.
“No! I had never beaten anyone of Goldberg’s status before,” Johnson said. “I won a few open tournaments back home, but I never contended in or won a big tournament.”
“My win today would be right up there with my biggest list of accomplishments, with my biggest my being a member of the BYU golf team,” he said.
Only to be exceeded by beating Cason Hammock in his next match.
