Gary Woodland, who underwent brain surgery in 2023, wins for the first time in seven years.
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After seven long and difficult years since hoisting the 2019 U.S. Open trophy at Pebble Beach, Gary Woodland conquered an even bigger challenge with his five-stroke victory in the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Sunday.
Just two weeks after revealing that he’s been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of his September 2023 brain surgery to remove a lesion, Woodland fired a tournament record 21-under-par 259 at Memorial Park to beat Nicolai Højgaard by five shots. The victory qualifies Woodland for the Masters next week.
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Davis Lamb
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Stewart Cink
“I’ll tell you what, we play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland said through tears after holing his last putt and sharing an emotional embrace with his wife, Gabby, on the 18th green at Memorial Park. “I got a lot of people behind me, my team, my family and this golf world. Anybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up, just keep fighting.”
Since Woodland revealed his PTSD in a powerful interview with Golf Channel ahead of the Players Championship, he’s received a lot of support from the tour, peers and fans. In Houston last week, he wore custom golf shoes with “Courage” inscribed on them from artwork designed by a young girl dealing with similar health issues.
“The response has been – it’s been big, and it’s also been big for me because I got a lot of relief,” Woodland said last week. “I literally feel like I got a thousand pounds off my back that day. It was hard to do. I was crying going into the interview and I left feeling a thousand pounds lighter. I have a battle that I’m fighting, but it’s nice to not do that alone, I can tell you that. … The golf world’s been amazing and I’m very thankful.”
Woodland was in command of his game from Day 1 at Memorial Park, when he shot a 6-under 64 to sit just one stroke off the lead. He grabbed the lead with a second-round 63 and clung to a one-shot edge entering the final round after a 65 on Saturday.
“Today was a good day. But I’m going to keep fighting. I’ve got a big fight ahead of me and I’m going to keep going, but I’m proud of myself right now.”
Gary Woodland
Nobody close enough stepped up to challenge him on Sunday as Woodland steadily salted it away with four birdies from Nos. 5 through 9 to turn a two-stroke lead into what eventually became a seven-shot cushion with eight holes to play.
Højgaard, who fired a course-record 62 on Friday and added a 63 Saturday to climb within a shot of Woodland, couldn’t keep his momentum going in the final round. He opened with a bogey, and his double bogey on the par-3 seventh turned a two-stroke deficit into a five-shot hole when Woodland rolled in a 25-footer for birdie to take full control. Højgaard only got as close as within four down the stretch before finishing with a bogey.
“I felt like the double bogey on 7 kind of put me on the back foot a little bit,” Højgaard said. “Nice to stay in the fight on the back nine and thought if I made the eagle on 16, something interesting could happen the last two. And then when I didn’t make the eagle, I felt like I couldn’t reach him. So fair play to Gary, he played unbelievable today.”
Woodland hadn’t won since the 2019 U.S. Open.
MIKE MULHOLLAND, GETTY IMAGES
Woodland coasted to a Sunday 67 despite playing the back nine 1-over, making only his fifth bogey of the week on 14.
“It’s just another day, right, that I’ve got to keep healing,” Woodland said. “Today was a good day. But I’m going to keep fighting. I’ve got a big fight ahead of me and I’m going to keep going, but I’m proud of myself right now.”
Jake Knapp matched Højgaard’s course record with an 8-under 62 on Sunday to climb into a tie for sixth despite starting the day 13 strokes off the lead. Min Woo Lee and Johnny Keefer shared third place at 15-under and a shot behind Højgaard. Sam Stevens was alone in fifth at 14-under.
Woodland outdueled Brooks Koepka to win the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, but it’s been a difficult road ever since. Yet in spite of his personal struggles, he said his golf game is as good as ever with the Masters on tap thanks to swing coach Randy Smith, who also coaches Scottie Scheffler.
“Randy’s got me in a spot now, my game’s better than it’s ever been,” Woodland said. “Obviously, I’ve got to battle some stuff with that, but my game, he’s more than a golf coach to me.”
Today marks the final deadline for players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking to qualify for the Masters. Højgaard (No. 36), Daniel Berger (39), Knapp (42) and Matt McCarty (46) each earned a spot in the season’s first major, which begins April 9 at Augusta National. Along with Woodland, they bring the field to 93 qualified players.
Michael Thorbjornsen started the final round tied for third and needed a top-five finish or better to climb into the top 50, but as it did at the Players Championship his Sunday finish cost him dearly, shooting 2-over 72 to finish T14, moving him to No. 54 in the OWGR. Pierceson Coody, who before the Florida swing ranked No. 45, missed two cuts in the Sunshine State and finished T55 at the Valspar Championship before withdrawing due to injury after the first round in Houston. He just missed becoming the first grandson of a Masters champion (Charles Coody, 1971) to qualify to play Augusta.
One more Masters spot is available to the winner of this week’s Valero Texas Open.
Scott Michaux
