Johnson Qualifies For US Open

June 6, 2001

Clemson, SC – Former Clemson All-American Kevin Johnson fired rounds of 66 and 72 on Tuesday at the Colonial Country Club in Memphis, TN and qualified for the 2001 United States Open. Johnson will be one of two Clemson graduates to play in this year’s US Open. Joey Maxon, a 1998 Clemson graduate who was a starter on Clemson’s second ranked 1998 team, qualified on Monday.

Johnson shot a four-under par 138 for his 36 holes on Tuesday and was one of 29 players in the 135 player field to make the cut from Memphis. Former Tiger All-American Jonathan Byrd, now the second leading money winner on the Buy.com Tour, had rounds of 67 and 73 in Memphis on Tuesday and missed qualifying by two shots.

Johnson and Maxon will compete in the US Open at Southern Hills in Tulsa, OK June 14-17th. It will be the first US Open appearance for Maxon, the second for Johnson. Johnson played in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, but missed the cut by a shot.

So far this year, Johnson has won $155,852 on the PGA tour. In his rookie year on the PGA Tour, Johnson has competed in 15 tournaments and made eight cuts with his best finish an 11th place ranking at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He won $20,300 for a 31st place finish at the Kemper Insurance Open last week, and he will compete in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis this weekend.

Johnson was a letterman for the Tigers under Larry Penley from 1985-89. He was the first three-time All-American in Clemson history, as he earned third-team honors in 1987, was first-team in 1988 and second-team in 1989. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in 1988 as a junior and was a three-time All-ACC selection.

Johnson will be the third former Clemson player to participate in the US Open twice, the second to do it in consecutive years. Dillard Pruitt played in the 1992 and 1993 US Opens, while Chris Patton played in the 1990 and 1994 events.