Course-record 64 boosts Wagner to Shell Houston Open lead  HUMBLE, Texas (AP) -- As Johnson Wagner eyed his approach to the 12th hole Saturday, a spectator behind the green wouldn't stand still.  Johnson Wagner knows he needs a strong finish Sunday earn his first victory. (Sam Greenwood/WireImage)
Wagner waited patiently for the man to move, then cracked a smile when the guy decided to stop right in line with the flagstick, throwing off Wagner's view of it. A more established player might've been peeved, but Wagner was just glad to have a crowd following him for a change. Especially, the way he was playing. The 27-year-old PGA TOUR rookie took advantage of a rain-softened course and calm conditions to shoot a course-record 8-under 64 in the rain-delayed Shell Houston Open. He knocked the approach to No. 12 within 15 feet and sank the putt, one of four he holed from at least 14 feet. "It's nice having people watch you, that's for sure," said Wagner, a two-time winner last year on the Nationwide Tour. "I'd rather have that than nobody out there." Wagner was 11 under, four strokes behind Bubba Watson. The big-hitting Watson was 9 under through 15 holes and 15 under overall when play was suspended because of darkness. Watson was one of 27 players who will complete the round Sunday morning. Houston resident Jeff Maggert, playing with Watson, was three shots back at 12 under. Adam Scott and Paul Stankowski shot 65s just ahead of the suspension of play and were tied with Wagner at 11 under. Stankowski just regained his PGA TOUR card last year after finishing eighth in qualifying school. He shot his best round of this year on Saturday after missing three cuts in his first five starts. Stankowski is just happy to be playing at all. He's endured three surgeries -- two on his left hand and another on his shoulder -- in the last three years. For a while, he couldn't even pick up a club, let alone swing one. "I'm thankful for just the opportunity to be able to put the peg in the ground and come out here," said Stankowski, winless since the 1997 Hawaiian Open. "Being in contention, having a chance (Sunday), that's just icing on the cake." Thunderstorms dumped 1 inches of rain on the 7,457-yard Tournament Course at Redstone on Saturday morning, postponing the start of the third round for six hours. The players went off in threesomes in the early afternoon and were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the soggy fairways. Wagner started the day at 3 under, three shots out a six-way tie at the top. He teed off almost two hours before the leaders and made the most of the ideal scoring conditions. He reeled off five straight birdies, including a curling 25-footer on No. 6, to finish a front-nine 30, then added two birdies on the back to beat Greg Owen's 65 in the second round of last year's Shell Houston Open. "It was an incredible run," Wagner said. "I kind of got in a zone." The Amarillo, Texas, native finished second on the Nationwide money list in 2006 to earn a PGA TOUR card. He's discovering quickly how much more difficult it is to win at the top level. Wagner has shot at least one round in the 60s in seven of nine starts this year. But his final-round average is 73.5, including an 80 at The Honda Classic and a 76 in Tampa the following week. "I just have not been able to get a good Sunday round," Wagner said. "I'm learning a lot out here. Hopefully, my experiences will help me this weekend." Wagner came into the tournament ranked sixth in greens in regulation. He hit 16 of 18 on Saturday and needed only 26 putts, four of them from beyond 14 feet. If only he can keep his touch for one more day. "Going into the past few Sundays, I've always been five or six back and feel like I've had to press early," he said. "I know now I have a really good chance to win. I'm going to be real patient and not try to press from the beginning." Watson leads the TOUR in driving distance and used his power to shred the fifth-longest course on TOUR. He birdied all four par 5s after hitting 300-yard drives. Scott, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5, missed several short putts on Friday and shot a 71. He holed a 23-footer on the No. 6, capping a stretch of four straight birdies. Divots: Defending champion Stuart Appleby was 10 under through 15 holes. Appleby led wire-to-wire to win last year and shared the 36-hole lead heading into Saturday. ... The tournament was delayed by rain for the second straight year. In 2006, the start of the second round was delayed 2 hours by a predawn storm. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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