Johnson Wagner plays 11th hole at Quail Hollow Club | Live From the PGA Championship | Golf Channel

Johnson Wagner plays 11th hole at Quail Hollow Club | Live From the PGA Championship | Golf Channel

HE IS BACK HOME. >> YEAH, HE CALLS NORTH CAROLINA HOME. [ LAUGHTER ] AND WAGS IS OUT HERE AT QUAIL HOLLOW. WAGS, WHAT HAS THE REACTION BEEN AS YOU WALK AROUND YOUR BELOVED HOME CLUB, TO WHAT YOU DID THE LAST FOUR DAYS? I KNOW WE LOVE THIS. [ LAUGHTER ] I AM TEARING UP. >> IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE. NO SPECTATORS OUT HERE TODAY, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT I HAVE SEEN A LOT AND THEY WERE ALL JEALOUS OF THE SPOTS I GET TO GO TO, RICH. >> WAGS, MAN, NICE PUTT LAST NIGHT, THOUGH. THAT WAS FUN TO WATCH. ALL RIGHT, WAGS, FIRST OF ALL, DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE BEATING RORY McILROY HERE FOR THE HALFWAY MARK IN 2010? DID YOU REALIZE THAT? DID YOU KNOW THAT? RORY DID BEAT YOU BY 22 ON THE WEEKEND. BUT, LISTEN, YOU HAVE PLAYED 13 TIMES HERE, BIG BOY. YOU ARE A MEMBER HERE. HOW IS THIS GOLF COURSE, THIS WEEK, GOING TO PLAY DIFFERENT THAN IT TYPICALLY DOES FOR THE PGA TOUR EVENT. >> A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT OVERSEAS STRUCTURE, HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A LATER DATE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE STANDARD ROUGH WAS GOING TO BE HEARTY AND HEALTHY, IF WE HAD A WARM SPRING — WHICH WE DID. SO, I THINK THE ROUGH IS NOT LONG, BUT THICKER THAN IT USUALLY IS, AND IT HAS BEEN MAINTAINED SORT OF BACK TOWARD THE TEE, SO IN YEARS PAST, AT THE TRUEST CHAMPIONSHIP, THE PGA TOUR HAS SAID IF WE WANTED OUR GREENS REALLY FAST, WE HAD TO HAVE LIGHTER ROUGH, SO I THINK PLAYERS WILL SEE MORE CHALLENGING ROUGH THAN A NORMAL PGA TOUR EVENT. >> WHAT ARE YOU SEEING TONIGHT, JOHNSON? >> YEAH, I AM HERE ON THE 11th GREEN, A REALLY SPECIAL GREEN. BEFORE I GET INTO THAT, THOUGH, I JUST HAVE TO GIVE A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO KEITH WOOD, THE GOLF SUPERINTENDENT HERE AND 13. THEY HAVE DEALT WITH ALMOST FOUR INCHES OF RAIN IN THE LAST NINE DAYS, SO THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING TIRELESSLY TO KEEP THIS GOLF COURSE IN AS GOOD A CONDITION AS IT IS IN. ALSO, MY SON PLAYS FOR THE CHARLOTTE LATIN HEARTS, THEY JUST WON THE THIRD STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TODAY IN GREENSBORO, PLAYED 36 HOLES IN THE RAIN. MY NEPHEW IS ALSO ON THAT TEAM, SO GO, HOT. THREE-TIME STATE CHAMPS. SO, BACK BEFORE 2017 — [ LAUGHTER ] — I HAD TO TAKE A SHOT. SO, BACK — [ LAUGHTER ] SO, BACK BEFORE THE 2017 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, IN THE SUMMER OF ’16, QUAIL HOLLOW WENT THROUGH A MASSIVE RENOVATION WHERE WE CHANGE THE NUMBER OF HOLES. THE 11th GREEN WAS ALSO PUSHED WAY BACK TOWARD THE PROPERTY LINE, ADDING ABOUT 25 YARDS TO THIS HOLE. NOW, IT PLAYS ROUGHLY 450 YARDS, BUT IT IS BASICALLY ALL UPHILL AND THIS GREEN GONE COMPLEX IS COOL. YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS DIABOLICAL TO A FRONT PIN, THE BALL CAN GO SOME 10 YARDS OFF, WHICH I WILL SHOW YOU IN A SECOND. THE FRONT HALF OF THE GREEN IS REALLY PITCHED TOWARD YOU, SO WHEN I PLAY THIS HOLE IT IS LIKE TWO DIFFERENT GREENS. HOW I APPROACH THE FRONT PINS AND BACK PINS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. SO, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING HOLE LOCATIONS ON THIS GOLF COURSE. FRONT LEFT HAND, AND IT IS CUT RIGHT OFF OF THIS BUNKER. SO, IF I SIMPLY DROPPED A BALL TWO PIECES SHORT OF THIS FLAG, WATCH HOW FAR BACK THIS BALL IS GOING TO RUN OFF OF THIS GREEN. AND NOW, THIS IS GOING TO LEAVE YOU IN THIS BERMUDA TAHOMA A PROGRESS THAT IS SUPERTIGHT, DOESN’T HAVE A LOT OF GRAIN, BUT IT WILL BE A BRUTAL CHIP. THANKFULLY, I CAN PUTT IT OUT HERE, BUT YOU HAVE THIS SMALL WINDOW JUST ABOUT A YARD ON THE GREEN TO LAND IT. ALSO WHAT MAKES THIS LOCATION DIFFICULT, YOU GET A BIG DRIVE OUT THERE, YOU THINK YOU CAN SWING A WEDGE OR A NINE IRON, YOU MISS THIS TWO YARDS TO THE LEFT, AND WATCH THIS BALL RUN ALL THE WAY DOWN AND NOW THIS LEAVES ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING SHOTS IN BETWEEN THESE BUNKERS. WHAT I AM NOT GOING TO DO IS THROW A BALL INTO THESE BEAUTIFUL BUNKERS BUT THEY ARE PEDAL UP AND DOWN THE LEFT PIN. I SEE AT THE HOLE LOCATION THAT IS ALSO DIFFICULT, THEY ARE GOING TO WIND THESE BUNKERS, SO THIS HOLE LOCATION IN THE MIDDLE IS RIGHT WITH THE GREEN TRANSITIONS FROM UPHILL TO DOWNHILL, TOWARD THE BACK OF THE GREEN. AND THEN, I HAVE A COUPLE FLAGS HERE ON THE BACKSIDE. WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU TONIGHT, I THINK IS INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK OF MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP VENUES — AND QUAIL HOLLOW, ESPECIALLY — YOU DON’T WANT TO BE ALONG THE BUT BACK FLAGS, BUT THERE ARE THREE HOLES ON THIS GOLF COURSE WHERE YOU DO, THE PROBLEM IS, THAT WOULD BE THE 1st HOLE, THE 10th HOLE, THE PAR 5, AND HERE AT 11. YOU THINK, OKAY, I WILL PLAY SAFE, I AM FAR OUT, I BELIEVE MYSELF RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREEN, BUT THEN YOU TAKE THIS BACK LEFT FLAG OVER HERE, I HAVE SOME 40 OR 50 FEET, THIS PUTT IS UPHILL FOR ABOUT 15, THEN STRAIGHT DOWNHILL. I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW DIFFICULT THIS SHOT IS, HERE. IT DOESN’T MOVE MUCH, BUT THE GREENS ARE RUNNING, AT OBVIOUSLY CHAMPIONSHIP SPEED AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO JUDGE THIS. IT IS REALLY EASY TO LEAVE IT SHORTER GET IT BY AND I JUST HAD A GOOD ONE, RANDALL. >> I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE CHIP SHOT FROM JUST OVER THE BACK OF THE GREEN. I LIKE TO PLAY THESE BACK PINS, I LIKE TO FLY IT RIGHT HERE ON THE FLAT, AND IF IT GOES LONG, THERE IS ABOUT A TWO YARD FIRST CUT RANGE IF IT TAKES A HARD BALANCE AND GOES OVER AND THIS CHIP SHOT IS CAKE, EVEN FOR ME, SOMEONE WHO CAN’T SHIP VERY WELL. COMING BACK HERE, THE BACK RIGHT FLAG IS AWESOME, AS WELL. I WOULD SAY THE SAME THING — MISS IT LONG. BACK HERE, THE FIRST CUT IS TIGHT. IT IS FLUFFY. IF IT GETS INTO THE ROUGH BACK HERE, IT MAKES IT A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT, BUT NOW I’M LOOKING STRAIGHT UP THE HILL. THIS IS A SHOT THAT THESE SHORT GAME GUYS THINK THEY CAN MAKE. THE WAY I LIKE TO PLAY IT OUT OF THIS FIRST CUT, I LIKE TO STAND IT UP ALMOST LIKE A PUTTER, TAKE MY PUTTER GRIP, AND ALMOST TAKE A LITTLE EASY PITCH SHOT, AND ALMOST HOLE IT. SO, IF I CAN ALMOST CHIP IN FROM BACK HERE, I THINK THE PLAYERS TO THESE BACK LOCATIONS FROM 1, 10, AND ESPECIALLY 11, LOOKING UP THE HILL, HAVING AN EASY PITCH SHOT, I THINK THAT IS THE WAY TO BE, THE PLACE TO BE. RICH? >> WAGS, YOU MENTIONED THE FLAGS OUT THERE ABOUT THE APRONS AND I NOTICED WALKING AROUND THE GOLF COURSE TODAY THEY ARE DISTINCTIVE, VERY, VERY DIFFERENT IN COLOR ON THE FAIRWAYS. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THEM? AND PARTICULARLY, IS ANYONE GOING TO CHIP FROM THEM? AND HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO CHIP OFF OF SUCH AS A TIGHT LIE? >> PAULY, BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2021, WE WERE GETTING READY TO HOST THE PRESIDENTS CUP IN ’22, AND THIS IS TIGHT GROWING. THERE IS NOT MUCH GRAIN. WHEN THEY ARE FIRM, PAUL, IT IS ALMOST LIKE CHIPPING OFF THAT GRASS THAT YOU FIND IN SCOTLAND, ENGLAND, IRELAND. IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR CONTACT IS GOING TO BE, IT IS GREAT TO SPIN THE BALL OFF OF. WHEN THEY GET WET LIKE THEY ARE RIGHT NOW, IT BECOMES MORE DI BUT, WITH THE LACK OF GREEN IN THE TAHOMA GRASS, IT IS THE BEST CHIPPING FOR THE TIGHT GROWING GRASS THAT YOU CAN FIND. >> WAGS, GREAT START

North Carolina resident Johnson Wagner is at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte to test out the par-4 11th hole, which has “a really special green” with “one of the most challenging hole locations” on the entire golf course. #GolfChannel #PGAChampionship #QuailHollowClub #JohnsonWagner #Charlotte
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Johnson Wagner plays 11th hole at Quail Hollow Club | Live From the PGA Championship | Golf Channel
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