Gary Woodland ended a seven-year wait for a fifth PGA Tour victory with an emotional win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, his first title since brain surgery.
Woodland shot a three-under 67 at Memorial Park to finish on 21 under, five strokes ahead of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard. It was his first worldwide victory since the 2019 US Open and secures him an invite to The Masters at Augusta National. The 41-year-old also moved inside the top 25 in the FedExCup standings.
Woodland missed much of 2023 for surgery to remove a lesion from his brain and has struggled with the recovery since returning to the tour in January. He revealed earlier this month that he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and said making the diagnosis public left him “feeling a thousand pounds lighter.”
How Woodland closed out the win
Woodland began the final day with a one-shot lead. Hojgaard bogeyed the par-four first, then briefly seized initiative when he converted a 10-foot birdie at the fifth. Hojgaard birdied the sixth but double-bogeyed the par-three seventh after two chips out of a greenside bunker, while Woodland rolled in from 25 feet to swing momentum back his way.
Woodland capitalised on the par-five eighth and holed another long-range birdie at the ninth — his fourth birdie in five holes — to reach the turn in 31. His lead grew to seven when Hojgaard bogeyed his 10th, though Hojgaard later rallied: Woodland missed a six-foot par save at the 14th while Hojgaard holed a similar-length birdie, and Hojgaard made a two-putt birdie at the par-five 16th to cut the margin to four.
Both parred the 17th. On the 18th Woodland got up and down from the back of the green for par to complete his first win in 2,473 days.
Afterward Woodland said: “We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today. 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. 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.”
Finishing places and other highlights
Hojgaard was runner-up, with Johnny Keefer and defending champion Min Woo Lee tied for third after Lee birdied the final hole to move into a share of third. Sam Stevens finished fifth following back-to-back 67s over the weekend.
There were two aces during the final round: Adam Scott made a hole-in-one at the par-three 11th, and Shane Lowry also recorded a hole-in-one at the par-three second. First-round leader Paul Waring finished a shot further back after a closing 74.
What’s next
The PGA Tour now heads to the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio, the final event offering a last-minute path to The Masters for the champion. Early coverage begins Thursday on Sky Sports Golf.