Not everyone gets fortunate enough to card an ace. At least Charlie Woods has never been able to do that. Although the 15-year-old has played golf for quite some time, his shot at putting an ace on his scorecard still has not come. He had his first eagle at the 2020 PNC Championship, though. On the other hand, a junior golfer three years younger than him achieved that feat at the PGA Jr. League Championship wherein the 2024 PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West is going on.

Emery Johnson showed his precision in the game when he hit a 6-iron at the par-3 fifth hole of the PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West from 132 yards. Even Johnson was in disbelief after his ball dunked into the hole and held his head in hand. Simultaneously, his Utah teammates, including Jraice Finau, the son of Tony Finau, who is also the official Team Utah assistant coach, erupted in celebration and picked the 12-year-old in the air to congratulate him.

Johnson’s parents, Brynn and Wayne Johnson were certainly proud of their son’s hole-in-one as they reposted the golf world congratulating the young gun and were the ones to introduce golf to Johnson. This iconic shot catapulted Team Utah to be only 5 shots behind at 34 under the lead of Team Georgia. But that was not the only hole-in-one the Utahns made at the PGA Jr. League Championship. After Johnson’s epic shot, another of his teammates followed. Drew Wilson also made a hole-in-one to help his team succeed at the junior championship and get the lead on the first day.

In the end, Johnson impressed everyone on his team and those who watched on ESPN. Even coach Tony Finau admiringly said, “He deserves all the hype he gets for that. He’s a great kid, a great player, and it’s great to have him as Jraice’s partner.”This praise should mean a lot to young Emery as Finau is his favorite golfer because “he’s good at golf and super nice.” Emery’s favorite memory of watching golf on TV is also of Finau, and it is when he won back-to-back in 2022: 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic. His overall favorite golf memory is watching legend Tiger Woods win the Masters.

Taking the limelight at such a young age, makes us wonder when he actually started his golf journey.

When did Emery Johnson start playing golf? 

Emery Johnson comes from Sandy, Utah, and has been playing golf since he was 3. After making it to the Driver, Chip, Putt finals, Johnson revealed that it was his grandparents and parents, Brynn (mother) and Wayne (father) Johnson who introduced him to golf. The junior golfer has been playing the sport usually with his family at the Alpine Country Club. Interestingly, even his sister, Beck Johnson, is learning golf taking inspiration from him. After all, he describes himself as a “Perfectionist, hard-working, athletic, old soul,” so it’s only right his sister seeks inspiration from him.

It seems that Johnson has always been an ace player and junior golfer. With a handicap of 5, he once scored the lowest score of 66 over 18 holes. Incredible score indeed. His favorite female golfer is none other than Lexi Thompson. If he ever wins Masters, Emery would love to eat Sushi at his Champions Dinner.  But golf is not the only forte of the 12-year-old. He also loves basketball, skiing, and mountain biking. His ideal foursome group has Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, and Tiger Woods.

Needless to say, Johnson proved at the PGA Jr. League Championship that he was indeed a perfectionist and will follow the same in the next round. Team Utah with their ace player Johnson playing the PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West, and you can follow the junior Utahns on ESPN between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM CT on ESPN+ and 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM CT on ESPN2.