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Is Gary Woodland back?
Calling Sunday " a great day for me,” Woodland made the case that he is in fact back. Seeing the 40-year-old U.S. Open champion jump into the fray in the final round at the Houston Open would lead any golf observer to agree that Woodland is back.
With a 64 in the second round, followed up with a 66 in the third round and a 62 in the final round, Woodland's runner-up finish put Him as close to a win as he was when he took the U.S. Open title in 2019 at Pebble Beach.
“It was great just to get those juices flowing again, just to see some results for that matter,” Woodland said, missing out by one shot. “I've worked my tail off when I've been able to. And Randy Smith, being back with him, he just keeps telling me just to keep going, just to keep going, that I have everything.”
It’s easy to want to jump on the Woodland bandwagon, as he made a run on Sunday when seeing the wry smile that Woodland has exhibited for most of his professional career.
But he still has issues from the brain surgery of September 2023, which still makes his life one of adjustment.
Between the different medications and lack of energy, Woodland is still trying to figure it out and adjust, but nothing could ruin what occurred on Sunday.
“It was nice to finally see it,” Woodland said of the game he has envisioned since returning. “It's one thing to tell yourself and to believe it, but it's another thing to see it in person. I saw and felt everything that I wanted to feel today.”
At the same time, Woodland was drained after his final round, saying he was tired and needed to rest.
“I haven't been in contention for a long time, but it takes a lot for me to slow everything down, and I was able to do that, but it's a lot of work, and I'm very tired right now,” Woodland said. “So, I'm looking forward to getting into bed and getting some rest.”
While he is learning to adjust to the remnants of the surgery and recovery, his game inside the ropes also needed adjustment.
Reunited with longtime coach Randy Smith has been a godsend, and his game of old showed up.
“We just tried to simplify things, trying to get back to being athletic at set up and kind of seeing the shot and just reacting to the shot,” Woodland said of the work with Smith. “Instead of playing golf swing and thinking too much about my golf swing, trying to see the shot and then just react.”
Woodland said the focus was mainly on set-up, with some tweaks to the lob wedge, which He claimed led to his short game feeling the best it has in years.
“I had a lot of confidence this week, and it was nice to see putts go in,” Woodland said. “I've done some things over the last couple years where I putted well, hit it well. I haven't done it together, and this week's the first week I've done it together in a long, long time.”
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