Tupelo's Fletcher Johnson picked a great day to play some of his best golf of the summer.

Johnson, 16, a junior at Tupelo High School, fired a 3-under-par 139 over 36 holes Monday at the Colonial Country Club of Memphis to win the USGA sectional.

The victory qualified him for the prestigious United States Amateur Championships.

"I'm excited," he said. "This is awesome. It's the biggest amateur event in the country."

Johnson and 29 other golfers from around the region competed for the one available spot in the tournament, which is scheduled for Aug. 24-30 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, the site of previous U.S. Opens and PGA Championships.

The sectional field had to play all 36 holes on Monday.

"It was very demanding," said Johnson, whose caddie was his Tupelo teammate, Bo Reed. "It was like 93 degrees today."

For Johnson, the key was his putting. He rolled in eight birdies during his back-to-back rounds of 2-under 69 and 1-under 70.

"I made everything I looked at," he said. "It was wild. Some days you've just got it."

Johnson helped lead the Golden Wave golf team to a Class 5A championship last spring.

Last week, he tied for first in AJGA's Bass Pro Shops Tournament in Springfield, Mo., but lost in a playoff.

"He's playing really well right now," said Johnson's father, Steve.