BROUSSARD, La. (March 26, 2006). Three days after his 26th birthday, Johnson Wagner gave himself the best present of all as he captured his first Nationwide Tour win at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. The former Met Area star shot a final-round 67 and sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a one-stroke win over Chad Collins. The $90,000 first-place check vaults Wagner, who works on his swing with head pro Bobby Heins at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, to fourth place on the Nationwide Tour money list.  

Wagner burst onto the Met Area scene with a win in the 2001 Met Amateur at Hudson National, and later that year captured the Met Open as an amateur at Bethpage State Park’s Black course. In 2002, Wagner won the “Met Slam,” as he became the only player in history to win the Ike, Met Amateur and Met Open in the same season. That Met Open, held at Winged Foot, took place just a few weeks after Wagner turned professional, and the $23,000 he earned was his first pro paycheck.

After Wagner completed that amazing run through the Met Area, many local observers agreed that the former Virginia Tech standout would enjoy future pro success. In his 81st professional start, that potential became reality, and the win moves Wagner one step closer to earning playing privileges on the PGA Tour.

“It is definitely a hurdle that I’ve crossed now,” says Wagner about breaking his victory drought. “This is without a doubt the biggest day of my career. Hopefully now I’ll pull a Jason Gore and win three in a row.”

If he were to win two more times on the Nationwide Tour this season, Wagner would earn a “Battlefield Promotion” to the PGA Tour, as Jason Gore achieved in 2005. The top 20 finishers on the Nationwide Tour money list at the end of the season also earn a promotion to the PGA Tour. Should that happen, it would be particularly gratifying since Wagner has made it to the final stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School three times, only to fall short.

While his road to the PGA Tour is still long, Wagner can savor his clutch performance down the stretch. After he drove into a fairway bunker on the 441-yard 18th hole at La Triomphe Country Club, Wagner proceeded to hit “probably the best shot of my life out of the bunker.” The ball caught an edge of the cup and rolled eight feet past. Wagner settled himself and rolled in the putt to take a one-stroke lead, then waited as Collins and third-round leader Franklin Langham played the 18th. Neither made birdie, and Wagner had the breakthrough win he’s been waiting for since turning pro in 2002.