Debbie Johnson is different from many of the other golfers playing in the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur that begins Saturday at Wichita Country Club in Kansas. The 47-year-old Stamford woman did not grow up playing golf in country clubs with hours of instruction from a private coach. Johnson is a self-made player.
Johnson, who played softball and volleyball and swam while growing up in Michigan, picked up golf in her mid 20s. She plays regularly on weekends, but her practice time is limited by her commute to New York for work. "I had my fair share of whiffs when I started playing,'' Debbie said. "When I did have a good solid hit, it went farther than most people of my ability."
Johnson's now one of the top amateurs in the region. She won the Stamford Amateur Championship for the third time this summer and also won the Southern New England Women's Golf Association title. Last year, she made the Connecticut team for the USGA's State Women's Championship, and she played twice in the U.S. Public Links tournament. This is her first berth in the Mid-Am, the nation's top event for amateur players age 25 and over.
Johnson earned her ticket to Wichita last month in New Jersey by finishing sixth in qualifying with an 85. She narrowly missed qualifying last year. She nervously watched this year after finishing in the penultimate group. "People told me, 'You'll know right away,''' Debbie said. "The last group was an hour behind us. I couldn't feel secure until they came in. It was a slow realization. I think it hit me more the next day."
The field, which includes Greenwich's Deb Jamgochian, totals 132 women. Johnson's goal is to make match play.
"If I wanted to practice more, I'd have get a different job,'' Debbie says. "I think if you keep yourself physically and mentally strong, you can beat a lot of players."
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