San Mateo Daily Journal's Girls' Golfer of the Year: Hillsdale's Ashlyn Johnson

Johnson’s idol is the late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Obviously she doesn’t try to resemble his game. She’s more drawn to his attitude.

“Kobe Bryant influenced me a lot,” Johnson said. “The ‘Mamba Mentality’ just inspires me every day.

The “Mamba Mentality” is to attack every day and every game like it’s your last. To put your entire focus, heart and soul, to be cutthroat in going for the win. And then doing it day after day.

Johnson did just that on the golf course this past season. She earned low-medalist honors in all but two dual-meet matches, captured her second straight Peninsula Athletic League individual championship and had the best finish in three tries at the Central Coast Section championship, all earning Johnson the Daily Journal’s Girls’ Golfer of the Year for the second year in a row.

Hillsdale head coach Dave Godoy said Johnson’s attitude and mental focus on the golf course is second to none.

“The Mamba Mentality, for her, it’s kind of bearing down. … Just put everything aside and just concentrate,” Godoy said. “She talks about it all the time. It’s like that killer instinct. She’s out there to dominate the field.”

Johnson started the season with a bang, setting a new school record with a 2-under 35 on the back-9 at Peninsula Golf & Country Club as she led the Knights to a 254-288 win over Aragon.

That broke a record of 1-under that she set last year.

Johnson birdied three holes, 11, 13 and 17 — where she drove the par-4 green and two-putted for birdie. A bogey on the 18th kept her from going even lower.

“I wouldn’t say I was shocked, but I was, like, ‘Whoa. That’s a good way to start (the season),” Johnson said. “[Peninsula is] my favorite course. It was pretty cool (to set a new record). It was a memorable moment, having my teammates there, having my dad there (who is an assistant coach).

“I believe we got Round Table (Pizza) after.”

Johnson would go on to shoot 1-under two more times during the season at Peninsula as she would shoot the low-round score in 10 of the Knights’ 12 matches on their way to a third-place finish in the PAL Bay Division standings.

The Knights just missed out on a team invite to the CCS tournament after falling to Aragon in the PAL’s CCS play-in match to determine the league’s second automatic team bid.

While disappointed the rest of the team couldn’t join her, Johnson qualified for CCS individually by winning the PAL championship at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo. Johnson finished third her freshman year and has now won back-to-back titles.

Going into the championship round, Johnson was the overwhelming No. 1 seed with the top differential.

The differential number is an equation that takes into account a player’s score given the difficulty of the course played during the regular season. Johnson had a differential of 1.7. Aragon’s Kate Chong, who was the No. 2 seed, had a differential of 2.9.

Despite being the favorite, Johnson found herself tied with Carlmont’s Kiana Flores at 4-over at the turn, but Johnson pulled away over the back-9, playing the final nine holes at 1-under with a birdie at No. 13.

Again, she could have gone lower — much lower — as she had birdie looks at 15, 16 and 17, but just barely missed her birdie putts.

But she did manage to finish her round with a flourish, showing off that Mamba Mentality. Her drive off 18 settled into a fairway bunker, about 118 yards from the pin.

Her approach slid off the green, but she sank a long, snaking 20-foot putt to put an exclamation point on the round.

Her 3-over 74 was her best competitive round ever at Poplar Creek.

“My biggest goal was the individual title, the PAL, which I’m thrilled to win again this season,” Johnson said.

And her season wasn’t over, qualifying for the CCS tournament for the third year in a row. And like she had already done twice this season, she had her best showing in her third appearance.

She shot a 4-over 76, finishing an agonizing two shots off the cutline to advance to the Northern California tournament, but it was her best finish in three starts at CCS.

But it’s not as if Johnson is head and shoulders better than everyone in the PAL. In fact, many of the top golfers can hang with with their approaches and putting. It’s her length off the tee that gives her a leg up on the competition.

“I would say we’re all pretty good golfers in our own ways. Everyone can chip and putt,” Johnson said. “People say I’m a pretty gifted ball striker. I hit it, like, pretty well off the tee. That’s kinda the strong point of my game.”

Godoy said Johnson is simply getting bigger and stronger and he’s seeing it on the golf course.

“Physically, you can see the difference in how she performs against the PAL. … She’s stronger than most players in the league,” Godoy said.

But Johnson’s success on the course has had an even bigger impact on the Hillsdale program as interest on campus has grown over the last couple of years. This year, for example, the Knights had 14 players on the team — 12 of which were seniors. When Johnson was a freshman, she had only a handful of teammates.

“Her success in the program has elevated our expectations and standards,” Godoy said. “There has been more interest in our program. … She’s a golfer and she’s attracting other [golfers]. She’s getting some notoriety. She’s being interviewed. She’s in the paper. People see that. I think that’s super important to our program.”

Johnson is not just a good golfer for a high school player. She is among the top junior golfers around. This past summer, she captured her second straight US Deaf Golf Championship (Johnson was born deaf, but had bilateral cochlear implants). She is also a regular tournament golfer.

“There’s not really on offseason. I’m still playing,” Johnson said.

Said Godoy: “She’s moving from a student-athlete to more of an elite athlete.”