TV Stars

Players Championship: Johnson Wagner now hitting full golf shots on LIVE FROM, is becoming the star of the Players

March 16, 2024

With three PGA Tour victories to his name, Johnson Wagner had himself a fine career as a tour pro. That said, "star" is not a word we'd use to describe him. Nor would he.

But now Wagner has transitioned into a role on television, where stars can be born regardless of playing resume. Look no further than one of Wagner's Golf Channel co-workers, Brandel Chamblee, who, despite having just one tour victory, is golf's biggest television star. Love him or hate him, you watch.

And if you have been watching LIVE FROM on Golf Channel this week, you've witnessed the rise of another budding TV star in Wagner, who set Golf Twitter ablaze on Thursday evening when he reenacted Rory McIlroy's penalty on the par-4 seventh at TPC Sawgrass. And by reenact we mean he was firing balls into the rough like he was Nolan Ryan:

Golf Channel must have seen the social media chatter, all of it positive, and decided to let J-Wags cook again on Friday night. Only this time he wasn't reenacting how a golf ball may have bounced into a penalty area. He was recreating full freaking golf shots:

Can't even describe how much we love this. Let the man go recreate every awkward shot he saw earlier in the day just to show off how hard it was, and how good these guys are. If anyone knows, it's a former player like Wagner. 

And again, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, a foreign concept on social media. The people are demanding more Johnson Wagner:

In a time where golf fans are desperate for superstars to emerge, Wagner is doing that at the Players Championship, and he's not even playing in the tournament.