By Adam Schupak

The weekend before the 2008 Masters, Johnson Wagner slept on his first PGA Tour lead at the Shell Houston Open. Except he couldn't sleep. His mind was racing, his stomach was in knots. So whom did he call for a late-night pep talk? His coach, longtime Old Oaks head professional, Bobby Heins.

"I said, 'Bobby, I'm freaking out. I feel sick,' " recalled Wagner. "He said, 'Good. That's why you play the game. When you don't feel sick when you're in that position is the day you should quit the game.'

"That's one of the best pieces of advice he ever gave me."  

The next day Wagner won his first title and earned a berth in The Masters. Heins drove through the night to join his pupil at Augusta National on Tuesday morning.

So how did this student-teacher relationship, which took flight shortly after Wagner captured the 2001 Met Amateur at Hudson National, develop? Nick Maselli, one of Wagner's closest friends from his junior golf days, deserves credit for the introduction. Maselli has served as first assistant to Heins for more than a decade. What began as an informal arrangement was forged as the three played rounds together at Old Oaks, where Heins has taught for the last 29 years.

"Bobby keeps it simple," Wagner said. 

He has passed on his short-game secrets, improving the part of Wagner's game most in need of polish.

"He's like the Yankees. He has plenty of offense," Heins said. "He's going to score four runs, but he can't give up five. I teach him to how to minimize bogeys."

If Wagner plays like the Yankees, then Heins has been his version of Joe Torre, the wise sage he never had. Growing up, Wagner never took many lessons until college. He picked up golf at age six, entered his first junior tournament at age 12, and began entertaining a Tour career in high school. Wagner flew under the radar until 2001, when he won the Met Amateur and the Met Open (at Bethpage Black), becoming only the second player in MGA history to win both titles in the same year.

In 2002, he wrote his own history, and prompted the invention of the term "Wagner Slam." First he won the Ike Championship in June, and then he successfully defended his title at the Met Amateur in August, a victory which came at the expense of his friend and rival, Andrew Svoboda, who he defeated in the final match.

"I can remember every shot in the match," Wagner said.

He turned professional just before the 2002 Met Open at Winged Foot, and won there too, making him the only man to hold the MGA's three majors at the same time. By then, Heins was firmly in his corner.

Heins and Wagner talk weekly, review swing video via iPad and visit when necessary. But in an age of instant gratification, where teachers and sports psychologists circle the range ready to offer a quick fix, so many Tour players abandon the teacher who got them to the dance.

"It's easier to make a change than take responsibility for your poor performance," Wagner said.

Wagner fell into this trap in 2010. In the middle of a prolonged slump, Wagner parted with Heins because he said he needed to work with a coach that could spend more time on Tour. It didn't take long for Wagner to realize his mistake.

"We didn't have the same chemistry," Wagner said of his coaching change.

Wagner reunited with Heins shortly before the Tour's Fall Series. Noting Wagner's open stance, Heins squared his left foot. The result was instantaneous. Wagner ended the year on a high note with a pair of top-10 finishes, and climbed to No. 126 on the money list. He capped off his resurgence in February 2011 with a playoff victory at the Mayakoba Classic, and advanced to this week's BMW Championship outside of Chicago, the third leg of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs,  Winning a second time on the PGA Tour proved his first title was no fluke. Now Wagner has his sights set on a loftier goal.

"I would give just about anything to play in a Ryder Cup," he said.

If and when Wagner makes the U.S. side, expect Heins to be by his side. Even if it means traveling through the night to be there.