Gary Woodland

Woodland achieved his highest honor when he won his first major championship with a three-stroke margin over Brooks Koepka at the 2019 U.S. Open. The victory, his fourth on the PGA Tour, came in his 245th career start (31st at a major) at the age of 35 years, 26 days. Became the seventh first-time major winner since 2010 at the U.S. Open. Converted a 54-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his eighth chance at stroke-play events. Played a 34-hole stretch without a bogey (hole 10 in R1 through hole 7 in R3). Led the field in Scrambling (16/20) after entering the week ranked 169th in that category.
Woodland was born in Topeka, Kansas, and attended Shawnee Heights High School in the nearby town of Tecumseh. He was named All-State in basketball, and his team won two state titles. He attended Washburn University on a basketball scholarship and averaged six points per game at guard in 2002-03 at the Division II school, which reached the NCAA regional semifinals. He left after his freshman year to accept a golf scholarship at the University of Kansas. Had a successful college golf career, winning four tournaments before turning professional in 2007. Reached the PGA Tour in 2009 after successfully making it through all three stages of the 2008 Tour Q-School. Posted six under-par rounds in the final stage at PGA West, highlighted by a second-round eight-under 64. Previous experience in competitive golf included playing on the NGA Hooters Tour in 2007 and '08. Noted for his distance off the tee. He underwent surgery on his left shoulder for a torn labrum midway through his rookie year, which shut him down until March 2010. He played eight events on a medical extension in 2010 but had to regain his card at Q-School at the end of the year, finishing T-11th at the 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. Three days short of a year after returning to competitive golf, he won for the first time at the Transitions Championship.
2010 Notes: Playing on a major medical extension, Woodland returned from a long layoff with a missed cut at the Valero Texas Open, followed by a T-32nd at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. He had last competed in July 2009 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, then underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder on August 12.
2010 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 14; Rounds Played - 46; In Money - 11; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 70.43 (rank 65th); Money - $56,370 (rank 92nd); Best Finish - T-11th, WNB Golf Classic.
2011 Notes: Lost on the second playoff hole to Jhonnatan Vegas at the Bob Hope Classic, his first career top-10 in his 28th career start. Two months later, he converted an 11-foot par putt at the 72nd hole to card a final-round, four-under-par 67 and win the Transitions Championship by one stroke over Webb Simpson in his 33rd start. Teamed with Matt Kuchar to win the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China. Was 17th in FedExCup standings and on the money list.
2012 Notes: In his first 19 events, his best finish was 24th at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and HP Byron Nelson. At the Frys.com Open, he finished T-9th, his only top-10 finish. Ended the year 134th in both the FedExCup standings and on the money list.
2013 Notes: Won the Reno-Tahoe Open, which gave him exempt status on the PGA Tour through 2015. Earned his second top-10 with a runner-up finish at The Barclays. Finished the year 23rd in the FedExCup standings and 37th on the money list.
2014 Notes: Had a runner-up finish at the CIMB Classic, losing a Monday playoff to Ryan Moore. Held the third-round lead at the Farmers Insurance Open before a final-round 74 dropped him to T-10th. At the Valspar Championship, the site of his first career win in 2010, he finished T-8th with five others. Placed T-7th at the HP Byron Nelson after shooting 8-under par. Finished the season with solid play in the FedExCup playoffs, ranked 22nd in the season-long competition, and 29th on the money list. Playoff results included T-13th at The Barclays, T-29 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, T-23rd at the BMW Championship, and T-9th at the Tour Championship.
2015 Notes: Opened the season strong with a T-2nd at the CIMB Classic, three strokes behind winner Ryan Moore. At the Sony Open in Hawaii was T-3rd. He missed the cut at the Masters, but at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, he lost in the finals to Rory McIlroy 4 & 2. Two weeks later, he finished T-4th at the Wells Fargo Championship. Played 24 events and made 15 cuts, finishing in the top 10 four times. Was 41st in the FedExCup race and 33rd on the money list.
2016 Notes: He didn't earn his first top-10 until his T-4th finish at The Memorial. He finished runner-up at the Barracuda Championship, where he previously won in 2013. Entered the final round six points behind Greg Chalmers' 54-hole lead but pulled within one with a par on the 16th. Playing in the group just in front of Chalmers, Woodland had an 8-iron in his hand to the par-5 18th hole, needing to make a birdie to put pressure on Chalmers, but left it in the bunker and three-putted for bogey. Earned his best finish in a major, a T-12th at the British Open at Troon. In the FedExCup Playoffs, finished T-4th at the Barclays, T-15th at the Deutsche Bank, T-24th at the BMW Championship, and T-10th at the Tour Championship. Finished the year 20th in the FedExCup standings and 38th on the money list.
2017 Notes: Less than a month after getting married, and in his third start of the season at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Woodland shot 64-65-66 to find himself in the lead by a stroke over Pat Perez. Shot a final-round 70 to finish 2nd, two strokes behind Perez, who shot 67. In his next start at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he finished T-6th. Shot a final-round 65 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to move up the leaderboard and finish T-5th. In the following month at the Honda Classic, Woodland overcame a first-round 71 and, with scores of 66-66-69 at PGA National, finished T-2nd with Morgan Hoffmann. At the WGC-Dell Match Play, he won his opening-round match against Emiliano Grillo and was ready to face Rory McIlroy when a family emergency forced him to withdraw. He later explained that he and his wife Gabby were expecting twins and unexpectedly lost one of the babies. Despite the difficult time, he still played at the Masters and missed the cut. The second child was born on June 24th, three months after the devastating loss of the first twin and 10 weeks early. They named the child Jaxson Lynn. Woodland had his first top-10 since his runner-up at the Honda Classic when he finished 4th at the RBC Canadian Open, missing the Vegas/Hoffman playoff by two strokes. Made it through all four FedExCup playoffs for the second consecutive season before finishing 28th in the standings.
2018 Notes: Played 27 PGA Tour events, making 21 cuts and finishing in the top 10 three times. Was 26th in the FedExCup standings. Finished T-7th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, thanks to a final-round 64. He stood at just six-under through 60 holes at Waialae, then played his final 12 holes in eight-under. He finished just three strokes out of the Kizzire/Hahn playoff. At Farmers Insurance, he finished T-12th, dropping back with a final-round 75. The next week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he began the final round three strokes back and fired a closing 64, reaching a playoff with Chez Reavie, who he defeated with a par on the first extra hole. Finished T-6th at the PGA Championship, his best result since winning in Phoenix in February.
2019 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour events, making 21 cuts with eight top-10s. Finished 15th in the FedExCup standings. Started the season T-5th at the CIMB Classic. Carded a 61 in the second round, then had a share of the 36- and 54-hole lead, but shot 71 in the final round to drop back. The next week, he was runner-up at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, finishing four strokes behind winner Brooks Koepka. Had a share of 10th place at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, thanks to a final-round 63. He was T-8th at the Hero World Challenge and nailed down his second runner-up finish of the year at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He began the final round with a three-stroke lead and shot a 68 but lost to Xander Schauffele, who shot 62. Finished T-9th at the Farmers Insurance Open, helped by a 66 in the final round. In defense of his 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open title, Woodland finished T-7th. At the PGA Championship, he shot 68 in the final round to finish T-8th. At the U.S. Open, shot 68-65-69-69 and after the second round, dominated and went on to win at Pebble Beach by three shots over defending champion Brooks Koepka. In the FedExCup playoffs, was T-52nd at the Northern Trust, T-31st at the BMW Championship, and 15th at the Tour Championship. He played in four matches with a 1-2-1 record in his first Presidents Cup. He lost his singles match with Sungjae Im 4 & 3.
2020 Notes: Played in 17 PGA Tour events, making 14 cuts with six top-10s. Finished T-3rd at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, five strokes behind winner Justin Thomas. Was 5th at the Zozo Championship. At the Sentry TofC, he was three shots back going into the final round but shot 72 and finished T-7th, five strokes out of the Thomas/Reed/Schauffele playoff. In his last start before the COVID-19 break, finished T-8th at the Honda Classic, four strokes behind winner Sungjae Im. He moved back to Topeka, Kansas during the break and lost 25 pounds. On his return, he finished 9th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, then T-5th at the Workday Charity Open. In the FedExCup playoffs, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust and T-33rd at the BMW Championship.
2021 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour events, making 14 cuts with three top-ten finishes. Was 113th in the FedExCup standings. Missed the cut in his attempt to defend his U.S. Open title. After shooting rounds of 74-74, Woodland revealed that he had a torn labrum in his left hip, which was giving him a lot of pain. Woodland says he has dealt with labrum issues in his left hip for a long time and has treated it with injections. But it flared up again, and he suspects the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf for three months played a role. When golf returned, he played seven out of nine weeks, which probably was too much. After a month's rest played at the CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek and finished 72nd. The next week at the Zozo Championship @ Sherwood, he was three-under after the first seven holes but was forced to withdraw with a back injury. Woodland took some time off after missing the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and on his return at The American Express, said he was feeling better, not 100%, but he played pain-free. In the time off, Woodland worked with his team on a recovery and conditioning plan that included work with a new chiropractor and what he called "a lot of maintenance." Unfortunately for Woodland, after missing the cut at The Players Championship, he tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of the Honda Classic and WGC-Technologies Match Play. In his first start, when he got better, he finished T-6th at the Valero Texas Open, nine shots back of winner Jordan Spieth. At Wells Fargo, he was co-leader after 36 holes and went into the final round a shot out of the lead. Shot 71 to finish 5th, three shots back of winner Rory McIlroy. Was 7th at the Barracuda Championship, 12 points back of winner Erik van Rooyen. In the FedExCup Playoffs was 74th at the Northern Trust.
2022 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour events, making 11 cuts with five top-ten finishes. Was 79th in the FedExCup standings. He was T-9th at the CJ Cup @ Summit. Was T-5th at the Honda Classic, shot 67 in the final round to finish six back of winner Sepp Straka. The next week was T-5th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, two shots back of winner Scottie Scheffler. Finished T-8th at the Valero Texas Open, four shots back of winner J.J. Spaun. Shot 69-69 over the weekend at the U.S. Open to finish T-10th. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-51st at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
2023 Notes: He played in 24 PGA Tour events, making 18 cuts with two top-ten finishes. He was 94th in the FedExCup standings. He held a share of the lead after a first-round 65 at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina before finishing T-67th. He was T-9th at the Cadence Bank Houston Open and Genesis Invitational. His game struggled, and soon after he finished T-27th at the Wyndham Championship, he announced that he would undergo surgery on Sept. 18 for a brain lesion on his brain that led to seizures and anxiety. While he knew about the lesion earlier, medication proved insufficient to treat it. Seeing the medicines were not working, Woodland promptly decided to opt for surgery. The procedure was a success, and a majority of the tumor was removed from his brain.
2024 Notes: Just 115 days after the surgery he returned at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Woodland was back to work with a strong showing of support. It had been a long slug as he missed the cut at the Sony Open, Farmers Insurance, and WM Phoenix. He made his first cut, finsihing T-39th at the Genesis Invitational. His best finish so far is T-21st at the Texas Children's Houston Open.