When senior Malinda Johnson wraps up her amateur career with the conclusion of the NCAA women’s golf championships, which begin the first weekend of May, an era will come to an end for Wisconsin golf. Regardless of where she finishes in the season’s final tournament, Johnson ranks among the greatest golfers in UW history.
Over the past three seasons Johnson has been a dominant force on the links, netting four victories and 14 top-ten finishes. After finishing just 0.44 strokes behind Katie Connelly in her sophomore campaign, Johnson has led UW in scoring average the past two years. This season, she will set a new school record for the all-time lowest single-season and career-scoring average.
Johnson has been awarded the Big Ten Golfer of the Week award three times this season en route to a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Last season, the Eau Claire, Wis. native claimed a second-team All-Big Ten award.
First-year coach Todd Oehrlein has, in his one year with Johnson, seen what a special player she is.
“Because she is comfortable and because she is confident in what she does, she is able to go out and excel and separate herself from all the other players,” Oehrlein said.
The impact that Johnson has had on the UW golf program transcends the years she spent leading the Badgers to tournament victories and to the program’s first NCAA tournament berth in school history.
“She has really raised the bar and raised the standard,” Oehrlein said. “That alone has provided so much direction and leadership for this program. Just the fact that she has been a first-hand example for all the players as to what level you need to compete at to be successful. That mark that she will leave on the program will last for years.”
With length off the tee and effective use of irons coupled with her cool demeanor on the course, Johnson has all the attributes of a great golfer.
“She hits the ball 30 yards further than most of the players out there and is a club or two longer with her irons than anyone out there. It is just strength,” Oehrlein said. “Combine that with just the fact that she is very confident with what she does — it’s a pretty nice combination.”
Although Johnson’s golfing career at Wisconsin will end following the NCAA championship tournament, her career as a golfer is far from over. This year, Johnson qualified for the LPGA Futures Tour when she tied for 10th at the qualifying tournament.
When Johnson hits the Futures Tour, she will compete for the opportunity to play in the LPGA. Last year, 29 players from the Futures Tour earned their LPGA cards.
“She has already qualified to play on the Futures Tour for the LPGA, and I know her ultimate goal is to qualify for the LPGA tour,” Oehrlein said.
For now, Johnson has her sights set on the NCAA tournament, and Oehrlein likes her chances.
“It’s going to be an incredibly talented field with a ton of great players,” Oehrlein said. “She is going to be one of the best of them there, though. If she plays well and plays solidly, she has a very good chance at advancing.”
One quality that has defined Johnson throughout her career is her ability to step up for the big tournament. In the three Big Ten championships she has competed in, Johnson has placed as high as second and never finished lower than fifth overall.
“Malinda is just very comfortable in a competitive environment,” Oehrlein said. “She gets into tournaments and she knows how to compete, how to score and she knows how to manage.”
In addition to her Big Ten tournament success, Johnson has she stepped up countless times and delivered when her team needed her.
“We were down on spring break and Malinda ended up winning that tournament (The San Antonio Shootout at Baylor) individually, and she was actually injured through the whole event. She just kind of found a way to play through it and really make a sacrifice for the team,” Oehrlein said. “The first tournament of the year, The Badger Invitational, [Johnson] lit it up the second day to get herself into a tie for [first].”
Perhaps the most fitting memory of Johnson came on the last hole of this year’s Big Ten championships, when she tapped in a birdie to close out a fourth-place overall finish.
“On the final round of the final hole of Big Ten championships her senior year, she stuck to about three inches away from a hole-in-one on a par three. A little tap-in birdie — that’s got to be kind of a nice memory for her to remember,” Oehrlein said.
