With mistakes eliminated, Wagner chases initial TOUR win  PGATOUR.com Correspondent MADISON, Miss. -- He came to the PGA TOUR for his rookie season in 2007 as someone who had paid his dues for four years on the Nationwide Tour, someone who won twice in 2006 and came within a whisker of winning the money title that went to Ken Duke.  Johnson Wagner has been buoyed by his play over his last four events. (Cox/WireImage)
It was only natural big things were expected of Johnson Wagner. If truth is told, Wagner, 27, expected those same big things of himself. And just when he thought it might be his time to shine, mistakes rained on his victory parade. Wagner got out of the gate quickly, making eight of his first 10 cuts, a performance that proved to him and others that The Big Show was where he belonged. Wagner was well aware his start could have been much better though had he not pressed on Sundays allowing top 10s and six-figure paychecks to be claimed by others with a little more seasoning and lots more patience. Then came the Shell Houston Open that bridged March and April. A third-round 64 on Saturday put Wagner squarely in the thick of things, right behind leader Bubba Watson. "I've progressively gotten more confident with each start, and I feel really at home out here,'' he said following the round, his best of the season. Wagner told himself repeatedly he would remain patient in the final round, a lesson he learned on the Nationwide Tour as well as in those first 10 events on the PGA TOUR. There would be no forcing or pressing. It was important that he allowed things to come to him. So what happened when Wagner made two birdies that put him so close to the lead he could reach out and touch it early on the back nine? He attempted to force the issue. "I fired at a stick I shouldn't have,'' he said. And in an impatient instant he made a double bogey that precipitated a frustrating free fall on the leader board. Wagner did that on April Fool's Day. And while he notched his first top 10 (a tie for ninth) and earned the biggest paycheck ($137,500) of his career, it was a bittersweet moment that apparently took a little getting used to and a lot of time to get over. The Masters was played the following week and when Wagner returned for the Verizon Heritage he wasn't the same player. He missed a cut, then another, then another floundering until his MC streak reached nine. He broke it with a tie for 64th at the Buick Open and then missed four more weekends. "I went from 60th in the FedExCup standing to outside the top 125,'' Wagner said Saturday following a third-round 68 that moved into a challenging position at the Viking Classic, the second of the new seven-event Fall Series on the PGA TOUR. Wagner believes things will be different this time around as he chases leader David Branshaw, who will open the final round with a two-shot lead over Bill Haas and a three-shot cushion over Chad Campbell, Shaun Micheel and Wagner. If Wagner has his way, those mental mistakes committed earlier this season will not be repeated as he, like Branshaw and Haas, attempts to track down a breakthrough victory. "This has been coming for a while,'' he said of Saturday's 68 and Friday's 65 that wiped out a pedestrian start of 73. "I making the putts I should make. And once my putter gets going I usually play well.'' Wagner has been buoyed by his play over his last four events. He has played every weekend with finishes of a tie for 12th, a tie for 13th, a tie for 65th and a tie for 12th. "I could have had three top 5s if a putt or two would have fallen at the right time on Sunday,'' he said. The run has moved him up the money ladder to 123rd, a spot he needs to protect to maintain his playing privileges in 2008. But he says he isn't worried about a late-season dash for cash. "I'm confident,'' he said. "There's a lot of golf left. My goal is to get into the Top 70.'' No matter what happens, he said, this year has been a wonderful ride, one that convinced Wagner the PGA TOUR is where he wants to be until he "turns 50.'' "There's so much pressure out here,'' he said. "I mean we're playing for so much money it's hard not to think about it. That held me back early. I caught myself wondering how much I might make and who I would pass on the money list. "But I've learned so much about the game this year. It has been awesome.'' It could get even better if Wagner can produce in the final round. "I'll be nervous and excited,'' he said of the final round. "But I'm confident with my game and comfortable on this course (Annandale Country Club). It's a good one to catch someone on because you can make a lot of birdies and if you hit it in the rough you can make some bogeys.'' |
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