Richard S Johnson was born on October 15th, 1976 in Stockholm, Sweden. Before taking up golf he played handball and skateboarding, both at high levels. It wasn't until he was 15 years old that he started to play golf. He turned pro in 1998 and a year later won a tournament on the Challenge Tour.

He made his way onto the European Tour via the Q-School. In his rookie season he finished T2 at the Madeira Island Open. It was in 2002 that he won his first tournament, the ANZ Championship in Australia. In 2003 he made his way onto the PGA Tour again through the Qualifying School.