Early Years
Vincent was born April 19, 1986, in Portland, Oregon. He began playing golf at age six, and by 14, Johnson had set a course record score of 62 at his home course Glendoveer Golf Club. He earned 68 titles throughout his junior golf career, having represented the state of Oregon at the Junior America's Cup and Hogan Cup and Team Tiger at the Junior World Championships.
High School
In high school he made his mark athletically, musically, and academically. Vincent was a member of the varsity golf team for four years, a point guard on the varsity basketball team for two years, he played piano in the school's orchestra, and he was an excellent student. Vincent excelled at golf from the beginning. He finished his freshman year with the Mt. Hood Conference scoring title and went on to finish second at the state tournament. By the end of his high school career Vincent finished First Team All-Conference four times, was the conference player of the year twice, and was an All-State selection three times. He also qualified for the 2004 U.S. Amateur the summer after his graduation. He would go on to compete in four more USGA Championships; the 2005, 2007, and 2008 U.S. Public Links and the 2007 U.S. Amateur.
College Days
Vincent's academic and athletic success in high school helped pave his path to receiving a higher education. In 2004, he was awarded a golf scholarship from Oregon State University and a scholarship from the Bill Dickey Scholarship Association. He began his college golf career with the first of his six Top 5 finishes at the Beavers' home event before classes were even in session.
Vincent's sophomore year started off with a bang. At the 2005 OSU Northwest Collegiate Classic he shot a school and tournament record 14-under par (202) during his first collegiate victory. He followed that with a tie for fourth at the Wolverine Intercollegiate. Because of his hot start he earned several honors including Pac-10 Player of the Month, Golf Digest/Golf World Player of the Week, OSU Everyday Champion for the month of September, and the Benny Award (OSU Athletics' version of the ESPY) for the Top Male Performance of the Year. He competed in every event during the 2005/2006 season and was named the team MVP and Captain despite having a mid-season knee surgery to correct a torn meniscus. He also earned his first of three Pac-10 Academic Second-Team selections as well as the first of his three Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports-Scholar Team selections during his sophomore season.
During the summer after his sophomore season Vincent began struggling with fatigue, a rapid heartbeat, and attention span problems. Over the course of a month an a half he lost more than 20 pounds due to his inability to workout and loss of appetite. The physical and mental changes took a major toll on his game. Shortly after the first tournament of his junior season Vincent was diagnosed with Graves' disease. He sat out the rest of the fall season as he worked to regulate the effects of his illness. He returned to competition during the spring and finished the year with a scoring average of 72.43, 3rd best in school history. He capped off a solid comeback by notching a 12-stroke victory at the 21st PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, the second collegiate victory of his career.
Vincent graduated from Oregon State University during the summer of his junior year with a degree in finance and a minor in music and enrolled in the university's MBA program during the fall. He was named co-captain of the Oregon State Golf Team during his senior season. Although he had a less than stellar season by his standards, Vincent finished the season with three more Top 5 individual finishes and ended his career with the 6th best career scoring average in school history.
Professional Career
Vincent turned professional after the 2008 U.S. Public Links. Due to the generosity of a few sponsors, the people at Nike Golf, and Robert Clark Sr. (founder of the First Tee of Portland [link to firstteeportland.org]), he was able to compete on the Gateway Tour during the Winter and Spring. Vincent received national attention in February of 2009 when he became the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Exemption, an honor that enabled him to play in the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open. Although he missed the cut by three shots, the experience convinced him that he has the talent to compete on Tour.
Vincent is currently living in Portland and working hard toward attaining his ultimate goal, membership on the PGA Tour.