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    Masters Brings Wagner, Weaver Together


    April 8, 2008

    By Alex Davidson

    Augusta, Ga. - Already forever linked by their school colors, a lightning bolt of good fortune has them golfing siblings of sorts this week at Augusta National Golf Club. Johnson Wagner and Drew Weaver made quite a pair during Monday's first official practice round at the Masters.


    Wagner
    Wagner, a Virginia Tech product, was the last man to receive an invitation into the 72 nd Masters, qualifying Sunday by winning the Shell Houston Open. Weaver, a senior at Virginia Tech, has known since last summer that he would playing at Augusta after putting an exclamation point to an incredible run at the British Amateur at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England.

    So a little more than 12 hours after Wagner's winning putt dropped at Redstone Golf Club and sealed the automatic Masters invitation that goes with a PGA Tour victory, the two enjoyed a stroll around Augusta National.

    "I got a text from him [Wagner] about one o'clock [in the morning] asking if he could join me today," said Weaver, of High Point, N.C., who has played Augusta National about a dozen times since his surprise victory at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England, to become the first American winner of the British Amateur since Jay Sigel in 1979. "Obviously, it's just an added bonus for him to be here this week."

    Wagner, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2001 and now lives in Charlotte, N.C., met Weaver last year at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. They hit it off enough to go watch Virginia Tech's football team play an emotional game against East Carolina that weekend. That was the first football game on campus since a shooting spree by Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech last April claimed the lives of 32 people.

    "You know, I think we're both equally blessed being here at the Masters," said Wagner, who played one round at Augusta in 2003 with his great uncle.



    Wagner had quite a bit of help getting to Augusta so quickly to be able to enjoy such an early practice round. The Sea Island Company shepherded him from Houston on a private jet that arrived in Augusta around midnight. He stayed at a house in town rented out by his management company.

    Weaver may be the amateur, but he was the one showing Wagner most of the nuances of the course. He gave Wagner a crash course, so to speak.

    But there was more going on than just two rookies learning the ropes at one of the most difficult and picturesque courses in the world. Many patrons recognized Wagner and knew he had just won the previous day at the Shell Houston Open to get the last Masters berth. Others were enthusiastic Virginia Tech fans, and Weaver was decked out in his orange and burgundy and donned a VT hat.

    Weaver also had Virginia Tech plastered on his golf bag. Wagner's 3-wood head cover has the school colors.

    Many people are aware of what happened that April 16 day on the Blacksburg campus when Cho, a Virginia Tech student, gunned down students and faculty members in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Cho later ended his own life.

    Six days after that horrific event, Weaver and the Hokies golf team authored a heartening story when they won their first Atlantic Coast Conference title, tying powerful Georgia Tech thanks to a final-day rally.

    Wagner was playing in a pro-am in Florida with another Virginia Tech product, Brendan De Jonge, when the shootings occurred. He has never talked with Weaver about the day. "We have never talked about it. I haven't really talked about it with anyone, except Brendan on the day it happened," said Wagner. "You know, I wasn't there. It was a horrible thing. There was a shock factor. But I can't relate to what that must have been like."

    Weaver said there has been great support from the golf community since the tragedy, as well as the country at large. But he also knows that he won't be able to avoid the questions about it.

    "Just having something with the Virginia Tech log instantly you get associated with April 16 and it's very unfortunate," he said. "But people, when they talk about it, it's always in a very supportive way. It's nice having all of the support. We definitely needed it, and we still do."

    Nevertheless, there he was on Monday averring that he will proudly wear the school colors.

    And why not? Why shy from the truth? On Monday, the truth led to some soothing cheers and smiles and good vibes. The two soaked it all in, the atmosphere and the fact that they could share it together, brothers in a special bond that might be tinged with sadness but, overall, is a very special relationship.

    Wagner, exhausted but running on euphoria and adrenaline, was able to sum it up best. "Today is the greatest day on the golf course I ever had."

    Alex Davidson is a freelance writer whose work has appeared previously on www.usga.org.