“It all made sense.”
Johnny MacArthur’s answer to why he chose to attend Pepperdine University corresponds with his personality — confident and assured. The Newhall Calif. golfer made the 45-minute drive down Highway 101 to the school he would soon call home.
“I wanted to come here MacArthur said. This was my number one choice.” The golf program one of the most respected in the country was a luring factor but not the one that sealed the deal. Instead MacArthur19 stated that family was the biggest motive.
“My family is kind of the main reason I didn’t want to leave.” McArthur boasts about his younger brother and sister his many cousins and even his grandfather. “My grandpa is the pastor of my church so I didn’t want to leave.”
Despite living only a short distance from home Johnny Mac as he is affectionately known around campus still feels the transitional struggles just as any other freshman does. “Your juggling things. Getting things fixed for your car or your bank account. You have a lot of responsibility. I mean I’m 45 minutes away. but it’s obviously different living out of the house.”
He admits to watching his younger brother a member of the high school football team play almost every Friday night last fall along with a ritual most freshman boys wish they could take part in. “I give my mom my laundry still.”
McArthur came to Pepperdine as one of the state’s top-rated young golfers. He is red-shirting this year but coaches have big plans for him in the future.
“Johnny was a very accomplished player stated assistant coach Brendan von Doehren. We recruited him for his accomplishments on the course great character and athleticism.”
And what if he hadn’t decided to play golf after high school? “I’d go to UCLA and I’d play football there.” An avid Bruins football fan MacArthur misses the sport nearly everyday. “Playing underneath the lights on Friday night that was one of the best times of my life.”
In high school most of his friends were also on the football team and while he was cordial with the golf team it wasn’t his sure-fire supply of buddies. The golf team at Pepperdine however has taken over that void. “Here some of my best friends are on the golf team.”
Being one of the newest members of the men’s golf team MacArthur has a fresh and unbiased view on the future of the program. In his eyes the next couple of years should bring a lot of success home to Malibu. “We are going to be really good. We will be competing for some of the top spots in the nation.”
That hope is not just one of players on the team but coaches as well. McArthur is a large part of that vision according to von Doehren. “He has great physical abilities that we believe can be shaped in the future to help us compete for a National Championship.”
The team is currently ranked in the top 25 nationally and is looking to move up with every tournament. The group pulled out a tournament win at Arizona earlier this spring proving that despite being inexperienced on paper they have what it takes to battle with powerhouses.
“We are hoping to peak at just the right time for our biggest tournaments of the year the NCAA regionals and nationals von Doehren declared.
The redshirt freshman believes team camaraderie and spirit will help it get over the edge, not each individual player. I think at the end when things get a little tighter and a little tougher we can rise to the occasion because we are so close.”
MacArthur is also looking forward to next year. Head coach John Geiberger is eager to get MacArthur on the links. “We [are looking] to him to be in our lineup next year. He is one of the most coachable players I have coached in 13 seasons [and is] very driven to be successful.”
Because he did not compete this season he will be eligible to play four full years with the Waves and plans on taking full advantage. “I have nowhere to go certainly no rush to get out of here.”
As he pauses and glances from the balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean he adds “it doesn’t get much better than this.”
And for MacArthur that statement could not hold any truer. He is working to star on a highly respected golf team and possesses the capabilities to do so. “He has the raw talent and with maturity can help lead us in the future von Doehren commented.
Considerations of playing professionally after finishing his studies in business at Pepperdine have even begun floating around. That’d be a dream come true he answered in response to his plans of someday joining the PGA tour.
Looking up to players such as Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim, both young studs on the tour right now MacArthur has learned some of the best tools needed for the game of golf. His go-to club is neither a 3-iron nor a 5-wood, but rather his confidence. You have to believe in yourself. If you have the confidence level I think anything is possible.”
But McArthur admits the transition from high school golf to college golf has not come without a few difficulties.
“In high school I was ranked number one in California. There are a lot of good players in high school but I mean here everybody is great. Everybody is talented everybody has a great swing. Everybody has what you need to be great. In high school you’ll find 1015 maybe 20 guys. Here every guy on the team is a stud.”
It is a struggle the Pepperdine coaches have acknowledged as well. “[He is] going through normal transitions of freshman year Geiberger stated of the 19-year-old. Von Doehren chimed in as well, mentioning Johnny brings youth and competitiveness to this years squad and is slowly learning what it takes to play college golf.”
These challenges are met with open arms by MacArthur as he adds “I kind of like getting pushed.” It is how you learn in life as well as in golf. And no one helped push and teach him better than his grandfather.
MacArthur gushes about the man that shares his name as if he is a modern day hero. “He is an absolute stud. I really look up to him.” And what is there not to look up to? His grandfather is a well-known pastor along with being a distinguished author and community leader.
After choosing to stick around for family bonding opportunities and weekly sermons delivered from his favorite man MacArthur seems as though he could not be happier with his decision.
“The program is unreal. The whole thing is a blessing.”
