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Bonneville High's Whitni Johnson (back) walks behind her younger sister, Marissa Johnson (front) on the 18th hole during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Bonneville High's Marrisa Johnson looks on during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Bonneville High's Whitni Johnson watches her drive during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Box Elder's Ruby Owens watches her putt during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Fremont High's Calista Henderson walks off the ninth hole green during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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West Field's Tailey Buckway watches her drive during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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West Field's Jovi Purser watches her drive during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Fremont High's Addie Cottle watches her drive during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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Box Elder's Olivia White watches her drive during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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The view of the 10th hole during a Region 5 girls golf tournament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at Schneiter's Riverside Golf Course in Riverside.

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RIVERDALE – Girls golf is something of a family business now at Bonneville High.

It’s a one-of-a-kind season where Lakers coach Brett Johnson is coaching two of his daughters, senior Whitni Johnson, the defending 5A state champion, and freshman newcomer Marissa Johnson, as part of a talented Bonneville roster rivaling each other week in and week out.

Bonneville, currently the third-ranked team across all of 5A, won its home tournament at Schneiter’s Riverside on Tuesday with an unmatched team score of 201, with the Johnson sisters bringing the day down to a single stroke.

After wrapping the 18th hole with the first varsity group to finish, Whitni Johnson, a three-time state qualifier, hurried back to watch Marissa bogey the 17th. A birdie putt wasn’t in store for her on No. 18, and Marissa finished the round a stroke short of her older sister – the closest round the pair have played yet three tournaments into the season.

Last year, Whitni delivered the school’s first girls golf title since 2012.

“My goal today was not to check (the score),” Marissa Johnson said. “I finally did, and then my mental side just blew up.”

Whitni, too, couldn’t help herself from peeking at the live scorecard on the 18th hole.

“The funny thing is, I checked it on the last hole, and I knew I needed to lock in,” Whitni Johnson added. “Then I literally hit it within like three feet, and I made a birdie.”

Win or lose, Whitni’s 75-stroke day, while the team’s best, is merely the best among six different Lakers that slotted themselves into the top 10. Anna Umbrell (78, 3rd), Addy Stanger (84, T-5th), Presley Shears (89, T-8), and Adi Stone (89, T-8) each kept Bonneville in the cool.

The Johnson sisters teed off in back-to-back pairings, as the duo competed against one another for the third time in their first and last prep season together.

It’s about their individual game, Whitni said, but besting the other has fueled both their swings as April lifts off the ground.

“I want her to do her best,” Whitni Johnson said. “Like today, she only lost to me by one stroke, but part of me’s also like I don’t want you to beat me… It gives her something to chase towards, and I think she plays better chasing me, honestly.”

Neither Whitni nor Marissa is a stranger to each other’s game. They’ve played too many rounds to count, and Marissa cannot deny she’s taken a page or two from her older sister when it comes to easing her mind on the course.

“It’s her mental game,” Marissa Johnson said. “She’s grown so much on that, and I admire her for it because she just stays happy even when she’s not doing the best.”

She continued:

“I think I’ve become more consistent,” Marissa Johnson said. “Mentally, I still have some bad mental games, but it’s gotten better, and everything in general’s just gotten a lot easier. It feels easier to play, it’s more fun to play, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot, too.”

Should the pair keep up these numbers, they’ll likely find each other in the same 5A state tournament field from May 18-19 at Riverbend Golf Course in Riverton.

“I would definitely be sad if we missed the opportunity, but I feel like we can definitely get there together and do it together,” Marissa Johnson said.

Marx, Owens lead Busy Bees to runner-up finish

The Box Elder girls golf team continues to bite heels.

Led by DJ Savage, the Bees finished second overall on Tuesday with four total top-10 finishes, including team-best 80 strokes by sophomore Mia Marx and 84 by senior Ruby Owens.

Owens, paired with the defending 5A champion, found herself battling through two obstacle holes as she finished four strokes behind her younger teammate. Owens and Marx placed inside the top 40 at last year’s 5A state tournament at Glendale in Salt Lake City.

The seventh and 17th holes gave Box Elder’s senior captain the most trouble.

“It bottlenecks between two ponds, which is difficult because you’re scared of the water,” Owens said of the 17th hole. “That one was hard for me, and number seven, it’s just straight uphill, and I also hit into a tree root, which was not fun to hit out of, but those were probably the two most challenging.”

Paired with the defending 5A champion, Owens said playing with the region’s frontrunner is both motivating and intimidating for two seniors traversing their final prep season on the links.

“Playing with Whitni’s always fun – she’s really funny,” Owens said. “I feel like it helps me stay competitive and helps me to be more locked in. Obviously, I’m not quite as good as her, but I feel like it helps me play better because it’s more competitive but still fun.”

Olivia White, finishing seventh individually with 88, and Izzy Nelson, tying Bonneville’s Presley Shears and Adi Stone for eighth with 89, sharpened up Box Elder’s 233 team score. Marx, Owens and White all find themselves among the top 30 girls golfers in 5A as of Tuesday.

Yes, the Bees are looking solid off the tee. But it’s a progressive attitude and an emphasis on pulling a tight roster together that Owens says set this year’s team apart from the lot.

“The team culture’s really important,” Owens said. “I’m a team captain, and there are three other captains, and we all have specific roles and jobs. The way we treat the underclassmen is the way they’ll treat underclassmen when they’re seniors and juniors, so I think just what we’re building right now is a great way to keep that going after I graduate.”

Owens, who plans on studying dentistry at Snow College next fall, isn’t worried about this spring season being her last – instead, she views it as a load off her mind.

“I think it takes a lot of pressure off because I know I’m not doing anything with golf after high school, so I can just have fun this year,” Owens said. “It helps me to play better when I’m not too worried about my score, or I don’t know the coaches or things like that.”

Phoenix-bound Buckway leading the Longhorns this spring

In her final season, West Field senior and South Mountain Community College commit Tailey Buckway isn’t making any excuses for herself now three tournaments in.

Buckway carded a team-best 90 through 18 holes to tie Roy High’s Chloe Bordley-Duran for 11th individually on Tuesday at Schneider’s Riverside Golf Course. It’s the highest Buckway’s shot so far this season after shooting 82 at The Barn and 84 at Cranefield earlier this spring.

Kail Ercanbrack carded 95 and Halle Wyatt finished with 101 for the Longhorns.

“Today was a little rough,” Buckway, who also plays basketball, said. “I was gone all break in Florida, and it was hard to practice, so I was going into today with a good attitude… I went golfing twice over the break, but it wasn’t enough because I just felt really off today, but I still did well on some holes and was proud of some shots – it’s an off day, and that’s part of golf.”

The back nine saw Buckway shave two strokes off the front and nearly a birdie.

“I don’t know which hole it was, but I had a really good drive, and I was like 50 yards away from the green,” Buckway said. “I had a really good approach shot, and I just got a par on it. But it was a close birdie, it was like by like an inch.”

Buckway, originally coming over to West Field from Bonneville in 2024, is in her second season as a Longhorn and her first under the direction of Mason Anderson, named the team’s second-ever head coach earlier this year. West Field finished fifth overall and three strokes behind fourth-place Northridge on Tuesday.

With April underway, Buckway is counting the days until graduation and soaking up what she can before her high school career comes to an end.

“I just tell myself to think about all the opportunities I get,” Buckway said. “There are people out there who don’t even get to play high school sports, or it’s an opportunity that I get. So, even if I’m doing terrible, like at least I’m here and you can’t take any of that for granted.”

TEAM SCORES

1. Bonneville, 313

2. Box Elder, 341

3. Fremont, 380

4. Northridge, 387

5. West Field, 390

6. Roy, 437

7. Clearfield, 441

TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Whitni Johnson, Bonneville, 75

2. Marissa Johnson, Bonneville 76

3. Anna Umbrell, Bonneville, 78

4. Mia Marx, Box Elder, 80

T5. Addy Stanger, Bonneville, 84

T5. Ruby Owens, Box Elder, 84

7. Olivia White, Box Elder, 88

T8. Presley Shears, Bonneville, 89

T8. Adi Stone, Bonneville, 89

T8. Izzy Nelson, Box Elder, 89

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram at @standardexaminersports.