The beer man’s ready for Toshiba Classic return

Mark Johnson broke through with his first Champions Tour victory last year at Newport Beach Country Club.NEWPORT BEACH -- Mark Johnson said Wednesday that the Newport Beach Country Club is a special place to him, kind of like home, and who can blame him?

After all, it’s where the former beer truck driver won his first and only PGA Champions Tour title -- in grand fashion -- at the Toshiba Classic last year.

Johnson knocked in an 89- to 91-yard approach shot -- depending on who you ask -- from the rough on the 18th hole on the final day to capture the victory, putting $247,500 in his pocket and making him one of the players to beat at this year’s Toshiba Classic, which tees off March 13.

“For me, it doesn’t get any better than this place,” Johnson said. “It’s where I got my first win.”

Johnson knew he had a special talent not long after he started golfing at the age of 10. He was a CIF Southern Section golf champion at Barstow High in 1972.

It didn’t happen right away for Johnson. After high school, he skipped college and went to work for H. Olson Distributorship in Barstow, where he drove an Anheuser-Busch truck.

“When I was a kid, maybe I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be and I didn’t have the finances. It takes money to pursue a golf career,” Johnson said. “I didn’t like college that well. You need to go to college to get that good seasoning.”

Johnson continued playing on the amateur level and on various satellite tours.

Johnson, 51, started the process of qualifying for the Champions Tour at the age of 45. He was the medalist at the 2004 Q-School.

“I happened to play my best golf at qualifying school for the Champions Tour,” Johnson said. “Sometimes it’s about getting breaks at the right time. My break came at qualifying school.”

Johnson accepted an offer from H. Olson to get out of the beer truck and onto the links full-time.

Johnson’s lob wedge shot for eagle on the tournament’s final hole gave him a four-stroke victory over Keith Fergus and Wayne Levi last year at Newport Beach Country Club. The previous day, Johnson got in contention by shooting an eight-under-par 63, tying the best second round in tournament history.

Johnson followed his victory at the Toshiba Classic with a strong showing a month later at the FedEx Kinko’s Classic in Austin, Texas, where he tied for third place and became exempt for the 2006 season. But after a tie for eighth at the Bruno’s Memorial Classic in May, Johnson had just two more top-20 finishes the rest of the year and none after the start of July.

Johnson said he put too much pressure on himself in the latter part of 2005.

“I play my best golf when I’m relaxed,” he said. “The latter part of the year I got too serious ... and the results probably show that.”

So far this year, Johnson tied for 13th place at the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii, earning $34,250, and finished 26th at the Turtle Bay Championship, earning $13,650.

He said familiarity with all of the courses should help him this time around. He’s looking for another strong performance at the Toshiba Classic, but knows it’ll be difficult to repeat.

“It’s not that easy to get in the winners circle,” Johnson said. “Those opportunities don’t come around too often unless you’re [Hale] Irwin or those guys.”20060209iuebthnc(LA)20060209idopg6kf(LA)