Masters invitation is finest perk of victory

Johnson Wagner won the Houston Open last week. The check and tour exemption were nice, but a chance to play at Augusta is surreal.

By GREG HARDWIG, Scripps Howard News Service

Last update: April 9, 2008 - 12:49 AM

AUGUSTA, GA. — Johnson Wagner wasn't thinking about walking on water after earning his way into the Masters with his victory in Houston on Sunday.

"I woke up [Monday] morning, I probably fell asleep at about 4:30 and woke up about 6, and all I could think about was skipping balls across 16 and getting the gallery to give me a big roar," said Wagner, 28.

Trying to skip it across the pond on No. 16 is one of those Masters traditions that don't make it to television much because it's during the practice rounds. Wagner, who feels like he's watched the Masters "every year since I've been alive," had skipping it all the way into the hole on his mind. It didn't happen.

"My first one was pretty pathetic," he said. "It skipped and went right into the bank. And then I hit another one, and it just barely crept just in front of the green, and I was pretty happy with it."

It wasn't Wagner's first look at Augusta, though. A few years ago, Wagner made it to Augusta through his great uncle, Bob Berry, who's a member. He stayed at Eisenhower Cabin after making it through the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School in November.

"I think I got to the gate at 1 o'clock or two o'clock, and went up to the security guard, and I was fired up to be here," Wagner said. "I had driven up from Atlanta and I think I said 'Hey, do y'all have any tee times for the morning?' just joking with him. He wasn't in the mood to hear it, but he let me in. I didn't sleep that night either."

Sunday and Monday night, Wagner slept in a bed in a house secured by Crown Sports -- in case one of the management company's players won a spot in the Masters. That won't be his accommodations for the rest of the week. Wagner's recreational vehicle is being driven up from Houston.

Monday, on a Masters-ready Augusta National, Wagner played his practice round with fellow Virginia Tech Hokie Drew Weaver, in the field as the 2007 British Amateur champion, with David Toms and K.J. Choi joining in. Wagner, who had sent Weaver a text message at 1 a.m. asking if he could play, couldn't help but hear the gallery passing on kind words for his two-stroke victory only a handful of hours earlier.

"It seemed like every time I looked into the gallery, someone said 'Hey, Johnson, congrats, great playing last week,'" he said. "It was so amazing that so many people knew my name and knew what happened [Sunday].

"It was probably the greatest day on the golf course I've ever had."

And this was less than a day after winning his first PGA Tour event. And the $1-million-plus first-place check. And the two-year tour exemption. And a trip to Hawaii for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship.

"It's not just close; it is the best reward for winning," Wagner said. "Kapalua is nice; $1 million is nice; two-year exemption, everything that goes along with winning on the PGA Tour is incredible.

"But being able to come to a place like this, it's beyond belief. It's just a dream come true to be here."