Jennifer Johnson, a senior at Desert Christian High School in Bermuda Dunes and one of the top junior girl golfers in the country, has received a sponsor's exemption into the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

“I'm so excited, and I just really wasn't expecting it, so it was a big surprise,” Johnson said.

The surprise came when Johnson and her father Mike wandered into the Kraft Nabisco's Gallery store at The River shopping center in late February, only to be met by tournament business manager Gabe Codding. Codding asked if Johnson's game would be in shape in five weeks, then announced she was being invited to play in her first LPGA event.

“That was one of my goals. I wanted to be in the field,” said Johnson, a 17-year-old from La Quinta, after receiving the invitation. “Because I had so much fun playing in the (Junior) Ryder Cup. That wasn't an LPGA event, but it felt kind of close to it.”

The Kraft Nabisco, the LPGA's first major championship of the year, annually extends invitations to top amateur players. Codding said Johnson was considered for an exemption as far back as December, but she fell just outside of the five players the event did invite.

When reigning U.S. Amateur champ Amanda Blumenherst declined her invitation to save the exemption for when she turns pro this summer, Kraft officials again thought of Johnson and made the decision to invite her.

“If you look historically at the amateurs that have been here, I think it's important because they see the the amateurs who have been here and how they have developed as players. So I think it's important as their first major to give them an opportunity in this tournament since it is a limited field.”

The tournament is played on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club, one of Johnson's home courses and the site of her victory in the American Junior Golf Association's Mission Hills Desert Junior in 2007. That was one of seven AJGA titles for Johnson in her career, including last year's AJGA Tournament of Champions.

Johnson, who has committed to play at Arizona State University next year, also has played on the Junior Ryder Cup and a pre-Olympic tournament in China last year in addition to being a three-time AJGA all-American.

Johnson said she's happy to be playing on a course she knows so well for her first LPGA start.

“I feel really comfortable on the course,” Johnson said. “I think you just have to play the bounces and play smart.”