A Closer Look - Season 2 (Johnson Holliday)
“It’s only a game.” – Johnson Holliday
When sitting down to discuss Johnson Holliday’s ascent from redshirting during the 2013-14 season until his rise to Freshman All-American, he mentioned that golf is only a game.
For someone that was third on a loaded team in scoring average as a redshirt-freshman to one that leads this year’s team in the same category, one might think that the sport he plays is more than a game.
Holliday opens up like a book and discussed why it is only a game, but yet a very important one.
During his high school days at Aynor H.S., the Galivants Ferry, S.C., native said that his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Given only a 10 percent chance to live, Cheryl Holliday underwent surgery to remove a tumor.
She ended up beating cancer and can now be seen watching Holliday, a redshirt-sophomore, thrive on the golf course. In fact, Cheryl Holliday managed to watch her son compete at the Wexford Invitational (where he finished second with an 11-under par) and at the 19th Annual Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, where Holliday was the team’s top performer.
Holliday, who had an outstanding junior season at Aynor H.S., started having small problems with his game as a senior. Despite looking for answers, things started building up.
“I continually tried to think and figure out how to make my swing better, putt better and play better – and it flooded into my freshman year at USC Aiken.”
Holliday chose USC Aiken because of the academics. His father owns a business in his hometown and with a solid business program, Holliday thought Aiken would be an outstanding fit.
“Everyone told me to pursue Division I, but I talked with a lot of people and decided USC Aiken was the best fit for me. Under Coach Carlisle, the team plays in a lot of Division I tournaments, has a highly competitive schedule and the school is always in the hunt for a National Championship.”
Blessed with a loaded team built with upperclassmen in 2013-14, Holliday managed to enter his freshman season like several other first-year students. He did not have the pressure of competing at tournaments or trying to make the top five each week. Instead, Holliday learned from the older teammates.
“I wouldn’t have been comfortable playing as a freshman,” Holliday stated. “I was able to get a solid base of academics. I worked on my game and sought advice from the upperclassmen on the team.
“Each player gave me a bit of insight,” Holliday continued. “Stephen Boudreau told me to continue play hard each time out; Hayden Letien reminded me to always believe in myself. Brandon Robinson-Thompson was a good role model for how one should be.”
Holliday opened his redshirt-freshman season with two straight tournaments under par, including his second-place effort at the season-opening Kiawah Island Invitational. There, he posted a four-under par, 68. The 68 also marked a low-round for him for the season, which he tied at the 2015 PBC Championship. Holliday garnered three top-10 finishes on the year and three more in the top 20. His efforts landed him as an all-tournament team selection for the Peach Belt Conference. Holliday also picked up Freshman All-America honors and honorable mention All-America accolades.
“I never envisioned doing so well from the start,” Holliday said. “I didn’t know what to expect. Even though I redshirted, I didn’t expect to go and play so well after the trouble I’d had in my game the previous two years.
“Playing in every tournament was a blessing,” Holliday continued. “Each tournament was breeding me to become better under pressure under situations I had never before encountered. It was much tougher than playing junior golf or amateur events.”
Despite playing so well during the 2014-15 season, Holliday was on a squad that featured a two-time All-American in Robinson-Thompson. With the departure of three seniors from last year’s team, Holliday’s role changed for the third straight season.
Just when Holliday thought things would start being smoother for him, he was injured. He was forced to not participate in anything golf-related over the summer after his redshirt-freshman campaign. It was not until a couple of weeks before the season did he start to swing the golf club.
“It was weird because heading into this season, I did not have high expectations from the start because I was hurt all summer,” Holliday stated. “When I was preparing for our first tournament, I was trying to get a feel and started playing really well. That kept my confidence up.
“It also helped me separate myself from where I was before. I started becoming a leader on the team,” Holliday said.
This year, he has had to move into the role of a leader on the squad that is comprised of one junior, one redshirt-sophomore, a sophomore, two redshirt-freshmen and one true freshman.
“The only way to be a leader is to know that our main goal is to win a National Championship,” Holliday said. “I continue to let everyone know that golf isn’t everything. We need to enjoy the game and the process of getting better.”
Holliday has continued to be an open book with his teammates and is treating them like family, inviting them to Galivants Ferry for Thanksgiving.
With the support Holliday has from not only his teammates, but also his family, he should continue to thrive this season and for the next two before hopefully turning pro.
No matter how difficult things might be, Holliday has seen a lot at his young age. When times get tough on the links, he can run his hands over top of the belt that his mother made for him when she was sick, helping him realize that things are never that bad.
