{"id":451200,"date":"2026-02-01T07:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451200\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T07:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:48:09","slug":"johnson-wagner-absolutely-roasts-brooks-koepka-in-his-network-debut-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451200\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson Wagner absolutely roasts Brooks Koepka in his network debut \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO \u2014 It was tough way to make a network TV debut.<\/p>\n

Johnson Wagner was hired by CBS away from Golf Channel before this season to do what he does best\u2014try to re-create shots hit by the pros, usually with highly entertaining results. There have been a lot of memorable attempts, including Johnson trying Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s 72nd-hole bunker shot in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Johnson tried it in the dark, bladed the shot, and did so with DeChambeau watching while holding the trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Saturday, CBS was in its first hour of coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines when Johnson made his network bow. A few minutes earlier, Brooks Koepka had an adventurous time at the par-4 first hole on the South Course after the man returning from LIV Golf started his third round at the 10th.<\/p>\n

Picked it clean \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8<\/p>\n

No compromising on a good line for @BKoepka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa CBS pic.twitter.com\/QWGY3ypgyD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

It had been a wild round for Koepka, with a card that already featured three birdies, one double bogey and two bogeys. He hit his drive left on 1 and the ball settled on the cart path. Not wanting to drop into the rough, Koepka decided to play it off the concrete and hit a fantastic shot onto the green, 11 feet from the hole.<\/p>\n

It would have been maybe the best birdie yet in Koepka\u2019s comeback week, but \u2026 the five-time major champ ended up three-jacking by missing the first roll and then the three-foot comebacker for a bogey 5.<\/p>\n

Cue Johnson, who went out to the hole, was handed his 7-iron and took a lash at the same shot\u2014live, while the tournament was bring played.\u00a0He offered a legitimate tip: \u201cThe key to hitting off the cart path is to not flinch at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, like so many of Johnson\u2019s re-takes, he couldn\u2019t match Koepka, pulling the shot left into the deep rough. \u201cNot very good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But then, before the guys in the booth could needle him about it, Johnson came up with his own withering line for Koepka: \u201cIf I had hit it on the green, though, I wouldn\u2019t have three-putted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everybody laughed and Nantz gave Johnson a break, responding, \u201cI got you up and down for par, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was fun stuff to watch, and the vote from here going forward: More Wagner shots and fewer walk-and-talks.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com<\/p>\n