Johnson gets his PPA Tour started right

What a start for Yates Johnson. 

Oh, and welcome to the PPA Tour.

Johnson, a regular winner on the APP Tour, made his debut as a newly signed member with the PPA and did it with style, ousting third-seeded Tyson McGuffin in the second round of the North Carolina Open singles bracket.

“It was a long four-to-five months of negotiations and chaos to figure out the contract and to get on the PPA Tour where the best stars are,” Johnson said. 

Well, Yates, along with his brother Hunter, have long been stars on the APP Tour, but both were thrown deep into the draw in North Carolina – Hunter getting the No. 35 seed and Yates getting the No. 33 seed.

Hunter fell to second-seeded Federico Staksrud in the round of 32. Meanwhile, Yates won the first game against McGuffin, 13-11, got run over in the second game, losing 11-0, and then held on in the third game, 11-6 for his second win in two days.

Not a bad opening tournament for his PPA career.

“After that first game, I knew Tyson would reset,” Yates Johnson said. “I think he played a perfect game and then I reset. I fought back and took the lead and then I kinda just went for it.”

And now that Yates can just concentrate on just the stuff between the lines, instead of signing on the dotted line, things will certainly be easier.

“I think I was pretty relaxed out there,” he said after the win against McGuffin, which puts him into the round of 16, where he will play Robert Slutsky, the No. 45 seed, who has wins against Ryan Sherry and Anton Gudz so far this tournament. “Once all that chaos is over, it’s a weight off your shoulders. It feels special to take down Tyson. I want to keep riding the wave and take it one at a time.” 

Part of the PPA Tour now, and Yates even got some help from his team, too. After brother Hunter, who was playing at the same time on a different court, finished his match, he got there in time to help out his brother Yates.

“I didn’t see a lot of people for me, but Hunter and Parris (Todd) and my agent showed up,” Yates said. “They gave me some positive reinforcement and gave me someone to look at. It felt good.”