Taylor University golfer Javan Johnson will never say his first college competition was his best. Looking back, though, it might have been the most important.
Ten months removed from surgery to repair a torn right ACL, Johnson posted a 36-hole score of 79-83—162 whilte playing for the Trojans’ “B” team in the Clash at Crosswinds event in Savannah, Georgia in the spring of 2019.
Under normal circumstances, Johnson would be miles from satisfied with a score 11 shots north of par. What it did, however, was begin the process of returning confidence to the former Franklin standout, who had missed his senior postseason with the Grizzly Cubs in 2018 and that first fall season at Taylor.
He has done nothing but impress ever since.
“During the second semester, I played three tournaments on our ‘B’ team,” Johnson said. “Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I hadn’t played competitively in almost a year, so it was nice to be out there and be relaxed.”
As Johnson’s right knee got better, so too did his game. During his sophomore year, he posted an average 18-hole score of 73.92 — the fifth-best scoring norm in Trojan history.
Johnson credits the work put in the previous summer.
“I worked a little bit at a golf course, and if I wasn’t working, I was playing golf,” Johnson said. “Coming back from surgery, a lot of it was course knowledge stuff. But by the time I started my sophomore season, I was driving the ball better a lot better. Just putting myself in a good position where I can hit greens and make putts.”
Johnson is on track to do even better this season in what is his second consecutive year of playing mostly as Taylor’s No. 1 golfer.
He played what might have been the best golf of his college career at the recent Garn Championships in Lexington, Kentucky. Johnson fired a 3-under par 69 the first day and followed it with a 76, earning medalist honors by five shots over runner-up Jay Williams of Marian.
“The course was set up to be very hard, and the wind picked up the second day,” Johnson said of the discrepancy of his two scores. “(But) going out and winning that tournament was pretty special.”
Johnson has continued to play well since that victory. He finished fourth individually with a 70-75—145 as the host Trojans placed third at the Purgatory Intercollegiate in Noblesville. This past weekend, he shot 77-71—148 to help Taylor to victory at the Pilot Spring Invitational in South Bend.
Taylor is back in action today at the Sagamore Invitational in Carmel.
With college athletes granted an additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Johnson plans to take advantage and play for the Taylor men through the 2022-23 school year.
Not surprisingly, this is music to the ears of Trojans coach Cam Andry, whose squad has placed in the top 10 of the last two NAIA national tournaments.
“We are so lucky to have Javan leading our program at Taylor, and I can’t wait to see how much better he can become in the next two years,” Andry said. “Javan is a special guy and the unquestioned leader of our team. Not only does he work extremely hard on his own game, but he does so much to help his teammates as well.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had players from both our men’s and women’s teams tell me they learned something from Javan.”
In the process, Johnson has learned a lot about himself, too.
