ST. GEORGE — We’re back to highlighting exceptional student-athletes throughout Southern Utah with all new episodes of “Performance Player of the Month,” brought to you by Ken Garff St. George Ford.
This month’s episode features Hurricane High School golfer Ellie Johnson. Devin Dixon with The Fan Sports Network and St. George News Sports joined her on the picturesque links of Sky Mountain Golf Course to catch up.
Learn more about “Performance Player of the Month” Ellie Johnson in the media player at the top of this report.
Johnson received her first set of golf clubs around age 6 and started playing competitively a couple of years later. So far, the highlight of her high school career was finishing runner-up at state as a sophomore.
Her favorite golfer is Lexi Thompson, and the coolest course she has played is the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course in Idaho with its famous “floating green.” She also loves Sky Mountain and has scored both of her career holes-in-one on that course.
Johnson considers her distance off the tee as the greatest strength of her game. She averages about 225 yards with her driver and can hit as far as 260 yards with a particularly aggressive swing. She’s working on becoming more consistent with her short game, especially putting.
Before playing a round, she likes to listen to music to lighten her mood, loosen up on the range and make friendly conversation to keep her mind off what’s at stake. She always wears multiple necklaces and rings while competing.
After graduating, she plans to stay local and attend college at Utah Tech.
Her sage advice to other young golfers? Be competitive and play your best, but don’t let the pressure get to you.
“Just keep it chill,” she added. “Have fun with it, don’t stress about it too much.”
Performance Player of the Month: Ellie Johnson | Sponsored by Ken Garff St. George Ford.
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