"It was very high pressure the last two days, and I don't know how I got through it, but I thought I was going to get sick on myself out there a couple times."

Texan Wagner Heading to Augusta Via Houston Victory

Ranked 313th at the beginning of the week, Johnson Wagner claimed the final spot in the Masters Tournament by winning the Houston Open by two strokes over Geoff Ogilvy and Chad Campbell for his first PGA Tour victory.

Wagner shot a 1-under-par 71 at the Redstone Golf Club outside Houston to finish 16-under for four rounds.

The 28-year-old Texas native, in his second full season on the PGA Tour, receives $1 million and the last automatic Masters berth reserved for Tour winners.

Despite a double bogey at his 8th hole today, Chad Campbell closed within one of Johnson when he birdied four of the first five holes of the back nine ...

Rory Sabbatini doesn’t care who he upsets as he climbs golf’s rankings.

‘If you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you suck’

By his own admission, Rory Sabbatini has a devilish streak. Ask him to list the craziest things he has done and he mentions Nascar racing, smashing windows and the day he painted a dog white. He was only a kid, messing about at home, when he so discoloured the rottweiler that it had to be shaved. “I’m not going to deny it,” he says. “I’m a trouble-starter, always have been.”

The world No 11 is the rashest, brashest, most controversial figure in golf, and no less likeable for that. He attributes who he is to where he comes from. Although he was born in South Africa, his mother is half-Irish, half-Scottish, and his father Italian. “There is a lot of hot blood flowing through me, a lot of passion,” says Sabbatini.

Paul Forsyth pf The Times says, 'Sabbatini’s heroes are not golfers.' ... click here to read ore

"We hit balls, shook hands, signed autographs, and heard from the grunts. 'Tell everyone at home we want to finish this,' one of them said to me. 'Give us the chance, and we will.' I thought to myself, At home, why is all the news bad?"

Must Read: Feherty Goes to War

Golf's irreverent Irishman David Feherty spent six days in Iraq and Kuwait -- along with Butch Harmon, Tom Lehman, Tom Watson, Howard Twitty and Joe Inman -- on Operation Links, a USO-sponsored visit to boost the morale of American servicemen and women.

This is one of the most worthwhile pieces Feherty has ever written. It provides a perspective on the situation in the war zone which rarely comes through in reports by news correspondents or politicians.

Here's an excerpt: "In route to the former hellhole of Ramadi, nearer Baghdad, there was evidence that the trip was growing dangerous. Captain Garrett looked increasingly more alert as we lifted off in the Ospreys, and two Cobra gunships rose menacingly alongside us, with Marines manning 120-mm machine guns jutting out each side. Even I, Florence of Arabia, felt safe surrounded by men packing this kind of heat. We'd gotten a close look at the Cobras minutes earlier, as each of us signed one of its missiles — just a polite message to our friendly neighborhood insurgents. I wrote 'You're welcome' on mine. But Butch, who saw and lost the most in Vietnam, was less polite."

Be sure to read the ending.

Click here to read Feherty's "Tour of Duty on Golf.com -- however, it's a better presentation in the print version of Golf Magazine ...

The TPC at Craig Ranch will present a stern test in early November 2008 if the wind is up and the temperatures down.

Nationwide Joins Million-Dollar Club

08 Championship Slated for TPC Craig Ranch in Fast-Growth McKinney TX

The dot on the map representing McKinney, Texas, just got a little bigger. Not because McKinney is the fastest-growing city in the US. Now they'll have a high-profile professional golf tournament to help stimulate further growth 30 miles north of downtown Dallas.

The PGA Tour has announced that the 2008 Nationwide Tour Championship will be played at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney. And it will carry the Nationwide's 1st million-dollar purse.

The Tom Weiskopf layout at Craig Ranch opened in 2004 and has been paying its dues by hosting the PGA Tour Qualifying School 2nd stage. From its inception, though, the desire has been for a more significant event (perhaps eventually the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, currently at the TPC Four Seasons just west in Irving).

McKinney politicos are looking for an economic boost from the golf world's attention, according to Brandi Hart at courier-gazette.com ...

The most picturesque hole at the CGIM Ireland course in Montreal - the par 3 12th - also features the only water hazard.

Bring Your Dune Buggy

CGIM Ireland links course in Montreal

By Fred Agnew, Senior Editor

MONTREAL - I haven’t been to Ireland (yet), but my impression of what Irish golf courses might be like – based on the Ireland course at Club de Golf de Isle Montreal, which promises “you will find yourself in Ireland without even having to hop on a plane” – is that you’d better hit your tee ball straight. Otherwise, you may spend the day searching for stray shots up and down and over the seemingly endless dunes covered with long, matted fescue.

The Ireland layout is indeed an unexpected oasis in the city, a mere wedge shot from busy Route 138 on the first couple of holes but with a relatively isolated feel as you move further into the course. Virtually every hole is bordered by the steep dunes.

To read Fred's complete review of the Ireland links in Quebec, click here ...

LIP-OUTS

Byron Nelson Passes $100 Million Mark for Charity

The Salesmanship Club of Dallas and PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem announced that the EDS Byron Nelson Championship has exceeded the $100 million mark in money raised for charity since 1968. This is not only the largest amount raised from an ongoing event in Dallas, but is also by far the largest amount raised by a single tournament in the history of the PGA Tour.

Royal County Down has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world … (Tourism Ireland photo)

Northern Ireland: A Priceless Trip

By Art Stricklin

A golf trip with my longest running and favorite golf partner … my dad.

A journey to what once was one of the most dangerous and foreboding of places … Northern Ireland.

Golf near the top of the world.

To steal the tag line from a certain credit card company … priceless.

That was the set up for a recent trip to Northern Ireland with my father, a fellow sports writer, who got me interested in this business and in this game.

Just us. In a small Irish rental car on smaller roads in uncertain weather conditions playing some of the best and once the most hidden golf courses in the world.

Two Writers, Two Partners. One Great Journey.

Sounds perfect. In fact, it was.

Click here to read son Art's version of their Irish golf trip ... including the snoring.

Click here to read father Gil's version of the trip ... including who did the driving.