Garrison’s Johnson Wagner Makes History By Winning Amateur and Pro Golf Championships

Johnson Wagner displays some of the many trophies he has won in his long golf carrer.

Johnson Wagner of Garrison brought home the hardware in a historic way this past August by winning both the amateur and professional golf tournaments held by the Metropolitan Golf Association at courses in Croton and Farmingdale, LI.

Only the second player in the Association’s 99 year history, Wagner took both tournaments back-to-back by beating his opponents in the amateur Championship played at the Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-On-Hudson, and following that up two weeks later with a victory in the Met Open Championship at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, LI. Johnson Wagner is only the second player to capture both crowns in the same season and just the fifth amateur in the event’s storied 86-year history to have his name engraved on the Walter L. Trammel trophy presented to the champion of Met Open Tournament.

Wagner, a caddie at Hudson National for the past three years, and playing for the first time in the Amateur Championship, used his local knowledge and fed off the energy of playing with 5-time Met Amateur champion George Zahringer of Deepdale. "It helped playing with George," said Wagner talking about his victory.

A senior at Virginia Tech, attending the business school there, Wagner spends much of his free time playing on the school’s NCAA golf team. Early September found Johnson on the links in Japan playing in the Toby Cup tournament. Wagner, who has been playing since he was 8 years old, lists his home course as Garrison Golf Club.