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77 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 21, 2004 Extra work pays off as Johns wins big tourney By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Stephanie Johns admits she’s not one to spend four hours at the driving range trying to fix one hitch in her golf swing. But the Ashland golfer did apply extra elbow grease a couple of weeks ago, and it paid off in a championship at the American Junior Golf Association Transamerica Tournament in Evergreen, Colo., a week ago. Johns overcame a seven-shot deficit at the start of Round 3 of the 54-hole event, finishing off the field with a 3-over-par 75. Her earlier rounds were 76 and 77. Until recently, her summer of cross-continental golf — she played in Florida, Canada and California as well as Oregon — had been ho-hum from a performance standpoint. "The beginning of the summer wasn’t that good," says Johns, who was Southern Oregon Conference runner-up and third at state for Ashland during the high school season. "I didn’t win anything big. I placed, but I didn’t really do anything." Advertisement Parts of her game always worked, but seldom everything at once. Then, in the America’s Cup tournament in Canada, she had a particularly strong round. "I said, ‘Hey, that’s pretty cool," says the senior-to-be. Upon her return home, she went to work, intent on having a good showing at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. "I practiced with friends for the whole week before Colorado," says Johns. "I was just messing around with my swing, trying to find something that felt good. I got in a groove and held it for two weeks." It led to her second big AJGA triumph in as many years. Last summer, she won an Oregon tournament, making her exempt for this year’s events. The win last week affords the same benefit. She might not have gotten into the Colorado field were it not for her status, same with a couple of other tournaments she was able to pick and choose. "They’re hard to get into," says Johns. "But if you get into them, you’re lucky. You have to have a pretty good background." In Colorado, where the 7,000-foot-plus elevation made the ball travel 15 to 20 yards farther, Johns, like others not used to thin air, had trouble judging distance. Ashley Tait, who is from Littleton, Colo., and who built the big lead over the first two days, didn’t face the same obstacle. Tait wasn’t a particularly strong player, says Johns, but she knew where to hit to and how the greens would react. Johns was paired with the top two players the final day. She overtook the second-place player by the turn but had picked up only one shot on Tait. But the leader faltered on the 15th and 16th holes, making double and triple bogey, respectively. Suddenly, Johns had reason to pay attention. When Tait was punching out from under a tree en route to another double bogey, Johns realized she had gone one stroke up on her rival. The lead grew to two entering the final hole, and Johns’ victory wasn’t secure until another bit of drama played out. Johns hit a terrific drive on the par 4, then chunked her second shot before reaching the green above the hole in three. After she addressed her ball for the downhill putt, a gust of wind caused it to move slightly forward. A rules official assessed a one-stroke penalty. Johns then stepped up, glanced once and hit quickly so as to avoid another penalty. She was thrilled to see her ball take the break perfectly and fall into the side of the cup for bogey. Tait had a 15-footer for birdie that she had to make in order to force a playoff. She wound up three-putting. "It was very interesting," says Johns of having to refocus late in the round. "For the first 14 holes, it was like I was just out playing a round of golf and having fun. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention." Johns is largely done with her junior golf for the summer, but she does have an intriguing round next week. Because of her Class 4A state finish, she will team with a high school boy and a Champions Tour player for a pro-am Monday, part of the JELD-WEN Tradition at the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in the Portland area. PAT AKINS is no longer the head pro at Stone Ridge Golf Course. Akins and course owner Jim Cochran "decided to part ways," Cochran said Friday. He did not elaborate. Akins also declined to give details "until the transition is complete," he said, referring to contract issues, which he expects to be finalized soon. The move happened earlier in the week. Akins was hired in June 1999. The Ashland High alum had previously been the head pro at Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby and Longview (Wash.) Country Club and was an assistant at Roseburg Country Club. Cochran said he plans to hire a replacement but is uncertain about the time frame. In the meantime, he said, golfers interested in taking lessons at the course can go to Bob Haney, the former head pro at Oak Knoll Golf Course in Ashland. Haney uses the Stone Ridge driving range. TIM CROFT, who was written about here a couple of weeks ago as a former aspiring pro who left the game and is now getting back into the swing, had his run come to an end in the Cedar Links Men’s Club Tournament last Saturday. Against Rick Dimick, Croft led through the first 1½ rounds of the 36-hole match-play event, only to be overtaken on the final nine in a 3-and-2 defeat. Dimick was runner-up in the Rogue Valley Stroke Play Championships last year and was a semifinalist in the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament the year before. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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