Johan Widal wears a glove on his right hand, yet he tees it up as a right-handed player.
“In the beginning, having a right glove as a right-handed golfer was weird,” Widal said. “When you start playing tournaments, people ask about it.”
The junior has Dysmelia, a disorder that causes the malformations of limbs in his left hand.
His puzzling setup to others; the right-hand glove and baseball-esque grip, has become second nature for him.
However, Widal’s unique grip doesn’t lack in power or finesse.
“At first, when I was younger, I’d say my grip strength was weaker,” Widal said. “The gym has been a big part of it along with playing floorball (a combination of field and ice hockey). It’s never been a problem playing golf like this at the highest level.”
There are no problems with the way the Halmstad, Sweden native is playing in the Marquette lineup, either.
Widal transferred to the Golden Eagles from Tiffin University, a Division II school in Tiffin, Ohio. He was the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2024, winning twice and finishing in the top five four times.
Widal entered the transfer portal before his first tournament last season, and former assistant coach Jace Long and Marquette pursued him.
“I leaned towards Marquette because the team culture is very good,” Widal said. “Ohio was pretty far up in the north, so I didn’t have a problem staying up here. Most people want to be in the South and play year-round, but I like having two months off and being able to practice and focus on getting better.”
Widal has found a home in Marquette’s lineup, stringing together back-to-back finishes as Marquette’s lead player dating back to last fall and a 3-0 run in the Big East Match Play event. He closed the fall season finishing tied-for-fifth in the Dayton Flyer Invitational, shooting one over during the three-round tournament.
Bailey said he believes the kickstarter this season for Widal was his final round at the Windon Memorial Classic at Conway Farms Golf Club in September, where he fired a season-low 5 under 66.
“I was 12 over-par through 33 holes, and to go out and shoot seven under my next 21 holes, one day won’t define you as a person,” Widal said.
Most recently, Widal is coming off a tied-for-11th finish at the Puerto Rico Classic, where he strung together a pair of 4 under 68s and closing round even-par 72 amongst a loaded field.
“He’s done a good job of building on [his foundation] each and every day,” Marquette head coach Steve Bailey said. “The thing that I appreciate a lot about his game is that he just owns it, and he knows what his golf ball is going to do.”
The event, hosted at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, featured a field with eight other teams ranked in Scoreboard College Golf’s Top 50, including the top two teams in the country, Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
“Playing that well in that type of field gave me a thought that these guys are very good at golf, and I just beat a bunch of guys that are ranked way better than me,” Widal said. “It gave me a reminder that I’m as good as them.”
It was also the first time Widal’s parents got to see him play in a Marquette polo.
“In such a strong field, you want to perform,” Widal said. “Having them there and playing good at the same time was awesome. They got to see a happy guy playing golf.”
He said he wants to join senior Patrick Adler in the win column by the end of the season and win the Big East Tournament as a team.
“I won two times in my Division II career,” Widal said. “There’s also a lot of things that need to fall into your hands if you want to win. If I get into the same situation during the spring, I know what it’s like to handle my nerves.”
Whether he finishes atop the podium or not, Bailey said he’s been a great addition to the team.
“We’re glad he chose to come here,” Bailey said. “We always ask of our guys that we look to do everything at a high level. He’s helped create that contagious atmosphere around our program.”
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.
