ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Chip Johnson speaks with his caddie and wife Pam while he hits on the practice tee following his first round of the U.S. Senior Open.
By BOB ALBRIGHT
PEABODY — Precious few touring pros can claim that they qualified to play in a pair of national opens in their home state.
And when you factor in the number of club pros to accomplish that lofty feat the number becomes infinitesimal.
Chip Johnson, however, is the exception.
The Salem-born golfer and longtime Hatherly CC (Scituate) head pro came out of nowhere as a wide-eyed 25-year-old to qualify for the U.S. Open at The Country Club in 1988 and nearly three decades later, once again punched his ticket to play in this week’s U.S. Senior Open.
“How many guys can say that,” he asked with a chuckle. “I can remember what a big deal it was back in ‘88 to see these same guys when they were just starting their tour careers and now it has all come full circle again. It’s a thrill.”
And through nine holes Friday Johnson appeared that he might even pull off an even more impressive exploit by making the cut just as he did on the testy fairways in Brookline back in ‘88. Sitting right on the projected cut at 2-over-par through the first nine holes, thanks to a terrific short game, four bogeys on the back nine effectively ended the impressive run for Johnson, who finished 1-over for the day and a very solid 4-over-par (144) for the two days. That’s not too bad for a guy who was running a youth clinic with his wife and caddie, Pam Kerrigan, at his Scituate club just a few days ago.
“To be a father and keep track of 300-and-something members at Hatherly, I think it’s amazing that he can just come out and compete like this,” said Kerrigan, a former LPGA player herself, who had her husband on her bag for many of her tournaments during her career.
“I try to keep him calm. I can read him and know when he’s getting frustrated.”
Although Johnson may have moved from the North Shore to the South Shore when he was just in diapers, you would never know it by the sprawling galleries he attracted both rounds.
“I was playing a practice round the other day and a guy came up and old me that he used to play golf with my father (Ken) all the time at the North Shore Country Club,” Johnson, 54, said with a grin, of the popular old course in Peabody that now is the site of Bishop Fenwick High School. “The crowd support has been great.”
Johnson’s late parents, Ken and Anne Johnson, grew up on the North Shore before moving to the South Shore, where Ken took a school administration job. Ken Johnson grew up in Peabody, caddied at Salem, captained the Peabody High golf team, and eventually met the love of his life, Anne Clancy, from Salem. Add those sturdy roots to the 300-plus members Johnson caters to in Scituate and he was not lacking for support.
“The gallery was awesome, they kept me motivated,” said Johnson after finishing up his first round on Thursday that saw him hit just four fairways, but still somehow manage to card a 3-over-par 73.
“Pam gave me a verbal lesson about the 17th tee box and I striped both of them after that,” said Johnson, who qualified at Kernwood and who has now remarkably qualified for five majors on the PGA and Champions Tour.
“I’m like most husbands, I just try to do what she says.”