In a September 2025 appearance on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, PGA Tour analyst turned Johnson Wagner detailed his best and worst shots of the year. Golf Channel viewers may remember Wagner’s worst choice – a forehand attempt, which he holed 60 yards short of the green during the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
“It was humiliating,” Wagner told Subpar. “I had my brother, my wife, my son, all of his friends were watching, and it was — it’s brutal to do something like that on live television.”
This week, Wagner returned to see another Subpar guest, and the conversation again turned to Wagner’s embarrassing moments in school. But this time, a shot from the Open Championship at Royal Portrush was on the mind.
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“This wasn’t really entertainment,” Wagner told show hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. “It was early in the week, I think it was Wednesday, and it’s like, go out there and highlight some places.”
Wagner found a nice gap in play behind a group that included Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark and decided to start rolling.
“Royal Portrush 16, a par-3 and a, it’s a barranca down on the right, it’s just this big hill, and our wind time is in the afternoon over there so there’s a lot of people on the golf course playing,” Wagner said. “I think it was Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark coming into the 16th but there was no one behind him for 30 minutes so I knew I could get in this time.
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Here’s how the recreation of Johnson Wagner’s viral shot came to life
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“So as soon as they left the green, I went down there, I dropped the ball, and the stage was full behind the green because of Spieth and Wyndham, but as soon as they left the green, people started coming out. So they all come out and I’m talking about this thing on the hill and I’m like, don’t just cut it in the middle of the square. In the forehead.”
Wagner said he doesn’t like to shout ‘in front’ because of his microphone, but luckily the marshal did it for him.
“People in the grandstand were like, oh my god, stop him, stop him,” he said. “And then I had to go up and talk about this little tub-like thing on the left side where you want to hit it, and right now my son’s with me and he’s just like, off camera with the biggest smile on his face that he’s had all night. It was just, it was a disaster and it would have been, like, the only time I almost killed someone.
For more news from Wagner, including details on his new role with CBS, check out the full episode of Subpar below.
