February 10, 2021
Kamaiu Johnson finally got a taste for life on Tour.
He’s not looking back.
The 27-year-old Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour golfer from Tallahassee, Florida, had several successes over the summer, including five straight top-10s and defeating Tim O’Neal and former PGA Tour player Brad Adamonis at the APGA Tour Championship in September. While he’s thankful for his experiences on that tour, geared toward promoting diversity to golf by supporting minorities to pursue careers on and off the course, the past few days at Pebble Beach have opened his eyes.
He’s ready to level up.
“I feel like I belong out here. … It’s very motivating to me, honestly, because this is where I want to be. I don’t want to go back to the mini-tour,” Johnson said Wednesday. “This is where I want to be. So it’s a big point that I take advantage of these opportunities that I’m getting on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour because I don’t want to go back to the mini-tour.”
Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Tee Times
Johnson’s dream of playing on the PGA Tour took a detour in late January when his long-awaited Tour debut at the Farmers Insurance Open was hijacked after he was forced to withdraw on Jan. 26 when he tested positive for COVID-19. Johnson had been looking forward to playing on a sponsor exemption at Torrey Pines as the result of his success on the APGA Tour and partnership between the APGA and Farmers since October.
The situation turned around quickly, however, as news of Johnson’s withdrawal from his debut inspired the Pebble Beach Pro-Am as well as the Honda Classic (March 18-21) to extend sponsor exemptions. Johnson was also given sponsor exemptions to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Emerald Coast Golf Classic at Sandestin in Destin, Florida, in early April.
Any of the disappointment left from the delay of his Tour debut has dissipated.
“I told my buddy the other night, if God made golf courses, he definitely started here on this property with these great golf courses around here,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s had plenty of time to bask in the glory that is Pebble Beach since arriving in Monterey, California, on Feb. 2 — one week after his withdrawal from the Farmers Insurance Open. The eight days spent studying Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass, both of which Johnson had never played before last week, has proved worthwhile based on his knowledge revealed during Wednesday’s presser.
“(The courses) fit my eye pretty well. I cut the golf ball, so this is a cut, these are cutter’s golf courses and pretty generous off the tee, but most of them are second-shot golf courses,” Johnson said. “At Spy, once you hit No. 5 at Spy, you better be golfing your ball. On No. 5 is when the golf course gets real, so you better be golfing your ball when you get to hole 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and that’s how I see it.
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