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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us August 24, 2005 Johns wins Nike Golf Shootout Teams with PGA star David Duval in Aloha By Tim Trower For the Tidings Johns Everything seemed to point against Stephanie Johns and her two teammates winning the Nike Junior Golf Shootout as part of the Jeld-Wen Tradition festivities. The Jeld-Wen, a Champions Tour event, is Thursday through Sunday at the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in Aloha. On Monday, Johns, Ashland’s Class 4A girls state co-runner-up, joined forces with fellow prep standout Jesse Schutte of Siuslaw and PGA star David Duval to claim the shootout. The five-hole event brings together Oregon’s top boy and girl high school players and partners them with pros to form seven three-person teams. Teammates alternate shots until the ball is holed out. The losing team on each of the first four holes drops out, leaving three teams to play for the title on the fifth hole. If there’s a tie for the worst score, the teams chip off to see which is eliminated. That’s why it seemed like Johns’ team was in dire straits. It was forever chipping off just to stay alive. The first hole, the next hole, the one after that. Even on the last hole, Johns was called on to break the tie, and she knocked a difficult shot close enough to win the competition. Another local player, Mike Barry, also participated. Barry, the Class 4A boys state winner, played with Andy Bean and Agatha Brzezinski of Wilsonville. They were ousted on the third hole. It was Barry’s first appearance in the event, but Johns played for the third time. That she got to play with Duval was a particular thrill. “It was weird to play with David Duval,” said Johns, who this week will head off to Nevada-Reno, where she’ll play college golf. “I was kind of, like, in awe. It was just cool. It was a little nerve-racking, but he was really nice, and his caddie was really funny.” Duval’s struggles in recent years have been well-documented. He owns 13 tour wins, but none since he claimed his only major, the British Open, in 2001. Johns and Schutte were aware of his background. “On the first hole,” said Johns, “he was joking about it.” Duval teed off to start the competition and promptly left Johns with a nasty, below-the-feet lie in a fairway bunker. They bogeyed the hole, and Duval, as the one who hit the tee shot, took part in the chip-off. “Me and Jesse looked at each other and kind of went, ‘Oh no, is he still good?’” said Johns. “Then he won the chip-off, and we were like, ‘We knew you could do it.’ He said, ‘I’m sure you guys doubted me.’” Apart from a massive drive on the fourth hole, Duval mostly contributed by leaving lag putts within inches of the cup. Of the four chip-offs, Johns hit two of them. On the last hole, it was a bit of deja vu. Last year, with her in the final chip-off, her team placed second. This time, said Johns, “They put us in the exact same spot to chip from, and the pin was in the exact same place. I knew that shot already.” Competitors couldn’t watch the others chip, but Johns knew by the crowd’s reaction that her opponents hit well past the hole on the green that sloped dramatically away. “I could tell I just had to get it kind of close,” she said. It was fitting end to her successful prep career. At Nevada-Reno, Johns — who took much of the summer off from golf — will be part of four newcomers joining the program. Four returners will also be on hand, and she doesn’t know yet where she’ll fit in. The Wolfpack’s first tournament is Sept. 14-15 at Trysting Tree in Corvallis, where Johns played the state tournament in May. “It’ll be kind of cool to come back home for my first tournament,” she said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams