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Wagner looked up at the leaderboard next to the ninth green and saw that the leaders coming back to the field, and that raised his hopes immediately. He made birdie from the bunker on the ninth, made birdie from the bunker on the next hole and then effectively put the tournament away with a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 15, and a tee shot into the wind on the 16th that avoided trouble.
"He played fantastic, right down the stretch," Howell said, who played alongside Wagner. "He hit a really good drive up 16, which he needed to hit. And then his shot on 17 to the middle of the green to make 3 there. That was the last place I think he could have lost it. He played 18 with 5 to win. That must be a pretty good feeling, I don't know. I've heard it is."
It was the second time Howell has been runner-up in the Sony Open, and the 13th time in his career. Frazar also was a runner-up for the second time at Waialae, having lost in a playoff to Ernie Els in 2004.
Now, Wagner is hopeful of a big year.
Somewhere in the offseason, when he was working out three times a week, flying to Florida to meet with his swing coach, and jotting down notes about his attitude and his goals, he decided not to settle for mediocrity.
He was confident enough to tell family and friends to expect a win early in the season. And it was a message he shared with Johnny Harris, who runs Quail Hollow where Wagner often plays.
Before leaving for Kapalua, Wagner said he told him, "If I get into the Masters, are you going to sponsor my brother and I in a foursome down there for a couple of days?"
Those who qualify for the Masters can play the course with members before the tournament.
"He was like, 'You go do it and I've got you, podner,'" Wagner said. "So I'll be going down to Augusta a few times."
And that mustache is going with him.
"Kind of made a deal with myself in December that if I was to get into the Masters, then I was going to keep the mustache for at least this year," he said. "Everybody said, 'Oh, is it a November mustache? Well, it's December, time to shave it.' I said, Look, this is not a one-month mustache. This is potentially a 10-year mustache.'
"So I think it's going to be around for a while."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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