Howard "Howie" Johnson (September 8, 1925 – September 13, 2015) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

. Born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, Johnson played college golf at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he was team captain. He did not turn professional until age 30, and then only on a dare. Johnson joined the PGA Tour in 1956 and had two victories. He won his first tour event in 1958 at the

Azalea Open The Azalea Open Invitational was a golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour, held at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington. Last played in November 1971 as an unofficial event; it was an official PGA Tour event in 1945 and from 1949 throu ...

, in a playoff with

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

. His best finish in a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

was T-12 at the U.S. Open in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. Johnson joined the Senior PGA Tour in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and his best finish was a T-2 at the

Vintage Chrysler Invitational The Gulfstream Aerospace Invitational was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1984 to 1993. It was played in Indian Wells, California at The Vintage Club (1981–1992) and at the Indian Wells Golf Resort (1993). The purse for the 1993 tour ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. He lived in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothil ...

, and his son, Howard Johnson, Jr., played on the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

. Johnson died in September 2015 at the age of 90.

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other wins (1)

*1960 Mexican Open

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Howie American male golfers Minnesota Golden Gophers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Minnesota Golfers from California Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Sportspeople from Riverside County, California 1925 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen