Kevin James Johnson (born April 25, 1967) is 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 ...

Early life

Johnson was born in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

. He credits his father, Ken, as his hero for helping him succeed in golf. Johnson grew up in

Pembroke, Massachusetts Pembroke is an historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Pembroke is a South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore suburb of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. The town is located app ...

Amateur career

Johnson attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

and was Clemson's first three-time All-American in golf. He also won the 1987

U.S. Amateur Public Links The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Professional career

Early in his career, Johnson played the

Southern Africa Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...

. In 1992, he won his first professional event at the

ICL International The ICL International, formerly the Transvaal Open, was a golf tournament in South Africa as part of the Southern Africa Tour. The list of winners includes major champions Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price ...

. For most of his career, however, Johnson 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 ...

's developmental tour where he has won six times, first being in 1997. In 2009, he had one of his best seasons where he won twice 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. ...

. The first victory came in a playoff over Jeff Gallagher at the

Rex Hospital Open The UNC Health Championship (formerly Rex Hospital Open) is a regular golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is played annually at the Raleigh Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. Winners Bolded golfers graduated to the PGA Tour via the ...

. His second victory came at the

Knoxville Open The Visit Knoxville Open is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is played annually at the Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. It is one of four original Tour events still played. The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'' was ...

in a two-hole playoff win over New Zealander Bradley Iles. He finished 13th on the Nationwide Tour money list to earn his 2010 PGA Tour card.

Awards and honors

* From 1985 to 1988 he was the Massachusetts Golf Association's Player of the Year * In 2002, Johnson was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame. In 2017, Johnson was inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor.

Personal life

In 1998, Johnson married Christa. They have two daughters who also attended Clemson University.

Amateur wins

*1987

, Massachusetts Amateur *1988 Massachusetts Amateur

Professional wins (9)

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour wins (6)

''*Note: The 1997 Nike Puget Sound Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' Nationwide Tour playoff record (3–0)

Golden Bear Tour wins (1)

Other wins (1)

*1986

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament. The brothers Donald Ross and Alex Ross had much success early in the tournament's history, winning the first eight events between them. In the mid-1910s, the Massachusetts G ...

(as an amateur)

Results in major championships

''Note: Johnson only played in the U.S. Open.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

References

External links

* *
Profile on Clemson Tigers Athletic site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Kevin American male golfers Clemson Tigers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Massachusetts People from Plymouth, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts Golfers from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 1967 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen