A little over 18 months ago, Gary Woodland underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor, a procedure that meant he needed to step away from the game for four months until returning for the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Not surprisingly, the 2019 US Open champion’s return to action was greeted with sighs of relief throughout the golf world, including from Tiger Woods, who handed him an exemption to that year's Genesis Invitational and described his comeback as an “unbelievable story.”
Since Woodland's return to action, there have been some encouraging signs that he has put his health scare firmly in the past, including a round of 64 on his way to T45 at that May’s Charles Schwab Challenge and a finish of T9 at the Shriners Children’s Open last October. However, he has now given his most complete performance since his comeback at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
The 40-year-old produced rounds of 69, 64 and 66 on the opening three days at the Memorial Park Golf Course tournament, but his best was to come, putting himself firmly into contention in the final round with a 62 that included seven birdies, an eagle and just one bogey as the finished on T2 with Scottie Scheffler at 19-under as Min Woo Lee claimed his maiden PGA Tour title.
Afterwards, Woodland admitted his performance was the result of hard work since returning to action. He said: “For me, it was great just to get those juices flowing again, just to see some results for that matter. I've worked my tail off when I've been able to.
He added: “I saw and felt everything that I wanted to feel today. The good thing is from where I'm at health-wise, it's hard for me to get ahead thinking-wise because I don't have the stamina to do it. So a lot of breath work, a lot of things to slow everything down. I was in really good control of my thoughts and my emotions, which hasn't been the case for me for a long time. With that said, today was a great day for me.”
Woodland also revealed he’s just thankful just to be playing again - albeit with a different perspective nowadays. He said: “It's completely different. I'm thankful, I'm thankful to be out here. I am extremely blessed to play this game for a living, to travel the world, to be around the people that are out here that are supporting me.
“My family's here. My kids - my son's in first grade, so they don't travel much anymore. This is spring break for them and they were here. I thought they were leaving, so to see them when I got done, that's what I'm fighting for, right? That's why I'm out here, to prove to them that you can overcome anything and you've just got to keep fighting, and I think I showed a little bit of that today.”
Victory for Woodland would have handed him a place at The Masters. As things stand, he is not in the field, although he is due to play again in next week’s Valero Texas Open. Given his brilliant performance in Houston this week, there is surely every chance he could go one step further next week to complete a fairytale comeback with a place at the Augusta National Major.
