Wagner Struggles in First Round of The Masters, Shoots 79
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (April 5, 2012) - Johnson Wagner, the only player in history to win five consecutive MGA championships, teed off Thursday morning in hs second Masters alongside legend Tom Watson and youngster Hideki Matsuyama. However, Wagner struggled throughout the day, failing to record a single birdie en route to 7-over 79 (91st place).
It was the back-nine especially where Johnson couldn't get anything going, tallying 4 straight bogeys and a double, leaving him with a 6-over 42.
Although there weren't many highlights, we followed his round below:
12:40 p.m. - After bogeying the par-3 4th, Wagner has straightened out his round with five consecutive pars. His front-nine 37 has him T-32 at the moment.
12:54 p.m. - Wagner continues his par streak at the difficult par-4 10th hole. He remains at +1 entering Amen Corner.
1:06 p.m. - A wayward drive forces Wagner to punch out, but a solid mid-iron will give him a 10-footer to save par...And it's short. He'll fall to +2 on the day. Meanwhile, his playing partner Watson is +4.
1:24 p.m. - Wagner's tee shot on the famed par-3 12th falls short into the bunker. He and Watson, who also found the bunker, both failed to go up and down. He drops another shot and falls to +3.
1:43 p.m. - The reachable par-5 13th is normally a great birdie opportunity. But Wagner misses a 6-footer on the low side for a par. He falls to +4 for the tournament.
2:28 p.m. - Not the first round Wagner expected. His par streak transformed into a bogey streak (11-14) and now a crippling double bogey at the reachable par-5 15th. He's now +7 thru 16 holes.
3:00 p.m. - Johnson Wagner closes with par at the final hole to shoot 79 (+7). He'll obviously have a lot of work to do if he wants to play the weekend. Watson ended up with a 77 while the impressive youngster Matsuyama finished with 71.
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