Harrison Campbell
ASU Student Journalist

Valley golf prospect Johnny Walker looks to finish season strong before taking his talents to the Arizona Wildcats

October 25, 2020 by Harrison Campbell, Arizona State University


Walker launches a drive during a match in 2018 (Photo via hamiltongolf.org)

Harrison Campbell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com 

The top of the leaderboard is home for Johnny Walker. He is a senior at Hamilton and one of, if not the best, golfers in Arizona. A 2019 individual and team state championship backs up that lofty statement, along with a slew of other victories he’s acquired at this point in his young career. 

This week, Walker and Hamilton will be in Tucson Wednesday and Thursday for the 2020 Division I state tournament at Sonoran Course. It’s a place Walker will become very familiar with in his next four years as he will be playing golf as an Arizona Wildcat.

Walker, 17, was first introduced to the sport through his father. When he was young, his dad used to play in a work golf league, and one day Walker asked if he could go and play with him. He played his first round at age 9. From there, he never put the clubs down. 

After his freshman year of high school, Walker and his family moved from California to the Valley where he ended up playing for Hamilton, one of the top golf programs in the state. It’s proven to be the perfect match.  

“It was clear to us as soon as he showed up that he was a special player, super talented ball-striker, uniquely gifted I believe as a golfer,” said Hamilton coach Steve Kanner, offering high praise considering the Huskies have won seven state titles in his 20 years in charge of the program.  

“Right off the bat, he was in our starting lineup,” Kanner said. 

Not only did Walker’s move to the Phoenix area improve Hamilton’s team, it also helped him improve his own game as well.

“My game did elevate because of the competition of the team, there’s definitely a lot of good players on the team,” Walker said, comparing the Huskies to his school in California which didn’t quite have the golfing pedigree of Hamilton.

Walker admitted he didn’t have the best season in his first year at Hamilton. He played the number two position on the roster as only a sophomore and still finished 15th in a field of over 75 golfers at the 2018 state championships, helping his school to a second place finish, just eight strokes behind powerhouse Brophy.

The 2019 season would be very different for both Walker and Hamilton.

“We knew we had a really good chance at winning state,” Walker said, looking back to the start of ‘19. ”The focus was to have the best season possible and that’s what we did.”

Hamilton won the majority of its invitationals that year. Walker had an equally strong season, including five first place finishes during the regular season and many more top five placements.

That momentum would lead the Huskies into the ’19 Div. I state championship. One year after Hamilton fell just strokes short of a title, the Huskies were back as one of the favorites.

The first day, Walker shot an impressive 71 and finished 2-under-par. The second day Walker left his mark by lighting up the course shooting 6-under-par on the front nine holes and 2-under-par on the back nine for a score of 65, leaving him at 8-under-par.

Not only did his electric finish help lead Hamilton to their first state title since 2014, it also earned Walker first place on the individual leaderboard, solidifying him as one of the top players in Arizona.  His final score of 136 was enough to fight off scores of 140 in second place and a score of 141 in fourth place from his Hamilton teammate Mahanth Chirravuri. 

Walker said going into the state tournament, “I was mainly focused on the team…” and everyone winning a championship. In the end, his performance, along with stellar showings from his teammates, secured Hamilton the title over Brophy, the defending champion. The Huskies won by three strokes.

This season similar pressure was applied and Walker has still thrived. He’s had three first place finishes, two of which he shared with teammate and Arizona State commit Anawin Pikulthong, and many more top five placements that have pushed the Huskies to 10 first place finishes.

That’s ten wins of the 12 events they played. That’s pretty incredible.

“They see what he does, how he plays the game,” said Kanner, referring to Walker’s teammates. ”He does a good job with our younger players, helping them figure out how to place shots. I see it every day, it’s just something special.”

His talent along with his hard work led Walker to commit to playing golf at the University of Arizona after being highly recruited by a slew of other college programs. 

The Wildcats have won one National Championship in golf and more than 10 conference titles.

Walker spoke about his reasoning for staying in Arizona for college saying, “The main reason was it was close enough to my own home, so I can still visit my parents,” before noting, “But not too close.”

Walker will certainly be a welcome addition to the Wildcat squad as they look to make a run in the Pac-12 next season, a conference they haven’t won since 2003.

When asked what Walker brings to Arizona, Kanner didn’t hesitate. 

“I think Johnny is going to make an impact on their team right away,” he said. “As he gets stronger physically and learns how to handle the game…that’s what college golf is all about and I know coach (Jim) Anderson will be a good mentor for him.”

“I would be surprised if he doesn’t get into the starting lineup right away, he is extremely talented, and he can do it,” Kanner added. 

Walker is already familiar with some of his future college teammates, having played with many of them in amateur events in the past.

“The history of the program is very, very strong, producing players that play on the PGA tour, which I know is certainly a goal of his,” Kanner said. 

The Wildcats have produced many professional golfers including former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk and Rory Sabbatini, who has six wins on tour.

“My goal is to have a career that sticks to golf …it doesn’t have to be a PGA player,” Walker said, adding he just wants to remain in the field of golf no matter what he does.

With countless top five placements, many of them first place, and a state title already under his belt, it certainly seems as though Walker has a very bright future in golf. 

But for the moment, he is focused on Wednesday when Hamilton tees off and attempts to win its second straight state championship. After that, Walker will look to cement his legacy at the next level, where his arrival is being eagerly anticipated.