One former, one current Hokie playing in the Masters

By Nate Warters

Published: April 9, 2008

A current Virginia Tech golfer and a former Hokies standout are scheduled to make their Masters debuts today at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Drew Weaver, a junior at Tech, and Johnson Wagner, a 2001 Tech grad, will join the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the year’s first major golf championship.
Weaver, a High Point, N.C., native, earned his Masters invitation with his British Amateur championship last June, and Wagner was the last to get in with his wire-to-wire victory in last week’s Shell Houston Open. He was 193rd on the PGA Tour’s money list before earning his first career win.
“(When) the putt dropped (to clinch the win Sunday), the first thought was, ‘Oh my gosh, I just won on the PGA Tour,’” Wagner, 28, told reporters after his practice round Monday. “But immediately after that, I said, ‘Holy cow, I’m in the Masters.’”
Playing in the Masters was one of the first thoughts that came to Weaver’s mind when he became the first American since 1979 to win the British Amateur.
“I kind of looked over at my parents and said, ‘I’m playing in the Masters. This is crazy,’” said Weaver, 20, who also earned an invitation to the British Open with the win.
Since June, Weaver has played more than a dozen rounds on Augusta National’s venerable grounds. He played there for the first time in late December. He and Wagner played a practice round together on Monday.
“Drew just absolutely kills the ball for such a little guy, which irritated me (Monday) when he was hitting it by me,” the 6-foot-3 Wagner said of the 5-8 Weaver.
Wagner, from Amarillo, Texas, had played the course before this week as well. His great uncle, Bob Berry, is a member at Augusta National.
Weaver helped lead Tech to a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last year. The Hokies will try to defend their title Apr. 18-20 in New London, N.C.
“That was maybe one of the greatest accomplishments in golf,” said Wagner of the Hokies’ ACC championship, which was won days after the Apr. 16 campus shootings. “They kind of came from nowhere, and it was great to see. Hopefully they will do it again next week.”
Both Weaver and Wagner will be playing with a Masters champion in their groupings for the first two rounds today and Friday.
Weaver, who is sharing the Crow’s Nest atop Augusta National’s iconic clubhouse this week with the tournament’s other amateur players, is scheduled to tee off at 12:46 p.m. today and 9:28 a.m. Friday with 1976 Masters champion Raymond Floyd and former Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd.
Wagner is scheduled to tee off at 11:18 a.m. today and 8:11 a.m. Friday in a grouping with 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler and Steve Flesch.
“I don’t care if I shoot 90 both days and miss the cut,” Wagner told reporters Sunday after his win. “I’m so excited to be (in the Masters), and it’s just a dream come true.”