Johnson Wagner

Johnson Wagner
Wagner in 2013
Personal information
Full nameMontford Johnson Wagner
Born (1980-03-23) March 23, 1980 (age 44)
Amarillo, Texas
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight230 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceCharlotte, North Carolina
SpouseKatie (Winn) Wagner
ChildrenGraham, Marianne
Career
CollegeVirginia Tech
Turned professional2002
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
(past champion status)
Professional wins7
Highest ranking60 (April 8, 2012)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Korn Ferry Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT36: 2008
PGA ChampionshipT51: 2011
U.S. OpenCUT: 2004, 2007
The Open ChampionshipT58: 2013

Montford Johnson Wagner (born March 23, 1980) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Early years and amateur career

Wagner was born in Amarillo, Texas and grew up in upstate New York, where his father taught computer sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He caddied for three summers at Hudson National in Westchester County, New York.[2]

Wagner attended Virginia Tech, where he was a golf team member. He was a two-time All-Big East Conference selection and individual medalist at the 2002 Big East Conference Championship. He met his wife, Katie, at Virginia Tech; she was a player on the women's soccer team.[2] Wagner earned a spot in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Wagner turned professional in 2002 and is currently a PGA Tour member. He was a member of the Nationwide Tour from 2003 to 2006. He earned his PGA Tour card for the 2007 season by finishing 2nd on the money list in the Nationwide Tour in 2006.[3] In 2008 Wagner gained his first PGA Tour victory at the Shell Houston Open. The win earned him an invitation to the Masters Tournament[4] and a two-year Tour exemption.[5]

In 2010, Wagner finished 126th on the PGA Tour after a rally at the season finale fell short, just missing full Tour privileges. He was described as "delighted" because he started the week 153rd on the money list.[6] Wagner's improved position meant avoiding the second stage of PGA Tour Q School and retaining conditional status on the PGA Tour rather than having to play out of the past champions category, earning him a few more starts.

On February 27, 2011, he won the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in a playoff over Spencer Levin with a par on the first hole and regained his Tour card through 2013.[5][7] It was the first time since 2000 that a golfer (Robert Allenby) finished 126th on the Tour and won the following season. Johnson won the first full-field event of 2012, the Sony Open in Hawaii,[8] and extended his Tour privileges through 2014. He also moved into the Top 100 in the OWGR for the first time in his career, moving from 198 to 92. Wagner had a disappointing 2014 season on the PGA Tour and finished 150th on the FedEx Cup points list (the last position to retain any PGA Tour status), leaving him conditionally exempt for the 2014–15 season.

Having lost his full playing privileges, Wagner earned entry as a sponsor exemption for the 2015 Shell Houston Open. Wagner lost in a sudden-death playoff to J. B. Holmes on the second extra hole. This moved Wagner from 180th in the FedEx Cup standings to 81st. He would regain his PGA Tour card after finishing 87th in the FedEx Cup.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 6, 2008 Shell Houston Open −16 (63-69-69-71=272) 2 strokes United States Chad Campbell, Australia Geoff Ogilvy
2 Feb 27, 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic −17 (69-66-65-67=267) Playoff United States Spencer Levin
3 Jan 15, 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii −13 (68-66-66-67=267) 2 strokes United States Harrison Frazar, United States Charles Howell III,
United States Sean O'Hair, Sweden Carl Pettersson

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic United States Spencer Levin Won with par on first extra hole
2 2015 Shell Houston Open United States J. B. Holmes, United States Jordan Spieth Holmes won with par on second extra hole
Spieth eliminated by par on first hole

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Mar 6, 2006 Chitimacha Louisiana Open −12 (67-69-69-67=272) 1 stroke United States Chad Collins
2 Aug 6, 2006 Cox Classic −21 (66-70-64-63=263) 4 strokes United States Craig Bowden

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Masters Tournament T36 CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT T58
PGA Championship CUT T51 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
The Players Championship T54 T60 CUT T35 CUT CUT T64 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Match Play
Championship T13
Invitational T71 T36
Champions 75
  Did not play

"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 14 2012 Ending 8 Apr 2012" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Profile on PGA Tour's official site". Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  3. ^ Morfit, Cameron (January 1, 2007). "Johnson Wagner is Ready". Golf Magazine. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  4. ^ "Wagner earns Masters berth with first PGA Tour victory". ESPN. Associated Press. April 6, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Green Jr., Ron (January 28, 2012). "Charlotte's Johnson Wagner finds groove on PGA Tour". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  6. ^ Lavner, Ryan (November 15, 2010). "Wagner remains upbeat despite loss of card". Golfweek. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "Johnson Wagner wins after playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 27, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "Johnson Wagner wins PGA Tour's Sony Open". The Seattle Times. January 15, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.