Chase Johnson completes wire-to-wire victory at APGA Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions
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ST. LOUIS –Although many challenged for the lead this week, Chase Johnson held strong, posting a final-round 3-under 68 to finish the tournament 11 under (63-68-131) for a wire-to-wire two-stroke victory.
Johnson maintained at least a one-stroke lead throughout the round Thursday, with Michael Herrera finishing in second at 9 under (67-66-133) and six players tied for third at 8 under (134)—Gabe Lench, Rovonta Young, Salvador Rocha Gómez, Ryan Ellerbrock, Varun Chopra and Jean-Baptiste Hakizimana.
“I didn’t make as many putts as I would have liked but made enough to get it done and honestly played boring golf,” Johnson said. “That’s my goal every round is just to keep it simple, keep it clean and eliminate the bogeys.”
And with only two bogeys on Johnson’s card this week, both coming in the final round, he let his skills shine at Glen Echo Country Club.
“I really love this golf course,” Johnson said. “If you drive it well and you can hit it far, which I’m capable of doing, you can leave yourself a lot of 30- to 60-yard wedges into those greens, and I worked really hard on that part of my game. So, I was able to drive it really well this week and kept it in play and when I did miss those fairways, it was just off. I was never in trouble and then was able to wedge it up there close a couple of times.”
With this win, Johnson secured a spot to play in the World Wide Technology Championship, an official PGA TOUR event, this fall in Los Cabos, Mexico, at the Tiger Woods designed El Cardonal Course.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to travel to, one, a beautiful place like Cabo, but also to participate in the World Wide Technology event,” Johnson said. “That is going to be a really good experience.”
Back in June, Johnson won THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage and secured a spot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, an official PGA TOUR event, where he made the cut and finished 7 under and T64.
“Just like the same mindset I had at Rocket, I’m going to go in there with a very high goal to win,” Johnson said. “And you know, if I play my game and do what I did out here this week, I’ll be able to have a chance.”
The APGA Tour travels to TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia next week. Johnson intends to continue to ride the momentum of this week, and the whole summer, as the season progresses.
“Anytime you come off a win, you always are carrying some kind of momentum, but this is more than that,” Johnson said. “I’m not just carrying it from this week, this has been my whole year. I’ve been playing really solid this year… And we’re just going to keep sticking to the game plan, stick to the same practice routine, ride the wave and see where it takes us.”
Marcus Bryd and Kevin Hall, who entered the week positioned No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the APGA’s 2023 Lexus Cup Standings, both finished T11 at the APGA Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions..