You never forget your first. Johnson Wagner surely will never forget yesterday, because it represented not only his first PGA Tour victory but his first invitation to play the Masters.
Indeed, what a significant day for the 28-year-old former Garrison resident and caddie at Hudson National who captured the Shell Houston Open yesterday to secure a spot in this week’s Masters.
In the moments after the victory, Wagner was euphoric.
“This is unbelievable,” said Wagner, who is in his second year on the tour. “I can’t put it into words. I can’t believe I’m going to Augusta. This is a dream come true. This was a long time coming. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
Wagner, who staved off final-round nerves as he clung to his third-round lead, actually played Augusta National four years ago as a guest of his grandmother’s brother, who’s a member.
“I played 36 holes over two straight days,” Wagner said of his Augusta experience before yesterday’s round. “I’m going to be there sometime, whether it is [this] week or five years from now.”
Despite having had a dismal start to this 2008 season, entering the week ranked 313th in the world, 193rd on the money list and having missed six cuts in eight starts this year, Wagner looked like a player who believed in himself yesterday, shooting a final-round 71 to win by two shots over Chad Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy.
Bobby Heins, the head pro at Old Oaks in Purchase, has worked with Wagner since he turned pro and he agonized while rooting his pupil on watching TV.
“Obviously, he was fighting with his game a little bit as you would expect,” Heins told The Post last night. “You wouldn’t expect someone to play like Ben Hogan when trying to win for the first time.
“I talked to him Saturday night and I told him, ‘They’ve got to come after you; don’t fall back to them. Let them come after you.’ And they did, but he did a great job of that [yesterday], playing away from pins and not forcing anything. He held up well. That was just fabulous.”
For Wagner, it was his first win in 44 tour starts. Previously he had only two top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at the Viking Classic last fall. He began his rookie year making seven of his first eight cuts, but after a streak of 13 of 14 missed cuts, ended up making only eight of his last 25 cuts in 2007.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, Wagner was one of the most accomplished players in the Met area. At age 22, he became the first player to hold all three Met Golf Association majors at one time – the Ike, Met Amateur and Met Open.
“It’s an incredible story,” Heins said. “It just goes to show in this game that you’re always there, ready to go. [Wagner] just got a little boost of confidence. You’re in a slump until you’re not.”