Perhaps the best ongoing bit in golf media right now is Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner attempting to recreate important shots from the day’s action during the network’s post-round coverage.
Now, as Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter has reported, that bit is expanding to allow Wagner to recreate iconic shots from the sport’s history in the week leading up to a tournament. This week, as the PGA Tour gears up for the Players Championship, that means Wagner attempted to recreate Hal Sutton’s famous “Be the right club today!” shot from the 18th fairway at TPC Sawgrass.
Unfortunately for Wagner, Monday evening’s conditions weren’t as favorable as they were for Sutton’s shot 25 years ago.
“Hal Sutton was 179 yards out. He hit a six iron. I am 179 yards out…I’m not hitting a six iron,” Wagner began. “It is blowing 20 miles an hour in, and the temperature’s dropping. I’ve got a four iron.
“If I’m going to say ‘Be the right club today,’ it’s going to be because I think I’ve hit a good shot,” Wagner concluded.
True to form, Wagner…did not hit a good shot. In fact, he claims he might’ve hit a grandstand off the green. “That was NOT the right club today,” he said.
Thankfully, Wagner doesn’t give up easily. The three-time PGA Tour winner opted to take a mulligan. But as any amateur golfer can relate to, sometimes the hardest shot is the one taken immediately following a bad shot. That held true for Wagner on this day.
“I don’t want to look like a fool on television, but I’ve gotten pretty good at that,” Wagner said before his second swing.
“Oh, God. I did it again. I think that one actually may have caught some hozzle,” he said after an ugly one-handed finish.
Oy vey, Johnson.
At some point, Wagner will find a way to recreate the same magic he found during last year’s U.S. Open, where he nailed the same bunker shot that won Bryson DeChambeau the tournament earlier that night. Despite what the Golf Channel analyst has shown on tape recently, he’s actually a damn good golfer.
But everyone battles the yips. Johnson Wagner’s just happen to be on live television.