Gary Woodland ended a seven-year drought for his fifth PGA Tour victory with an emotional win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park.
Woodland closed with a three-under 67 to finish 21 under, five shots clear of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard. It was his first worldwide victory since the 2019 US Open, secures him an invite to The Masters at Augusta National and moved the 41-year-old inside the top 25 in the FedExCup standings.
Woodland missed much of 2023 for surgery to remove a lesion from his brain and has battled through a difficult recovery since returning to the tour in January. He revealed earlier this month he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and said making the diagnosis public left him ‘feeling a thousand pounds lighter.’
How he closed it out
Woodland started the final day with a one-shot lead. Hojgaard bogeyed the par-four first but birdied the fifth and sixth before a double-bogey on the par-three seventh, where two chips out of a greenside bunker led to trouble; Woodland answered by holing a 25-foot putt to swing momentum back his way.
Woodland birdied the par-five eighth and holed another long-range birdie at the ninth — his fourth birdie in five holes — to turn in 31. His lead extended to seven when Hojgaard bogeyed the 10th, but Hojgaard rallied as Woodland missed a six-foot par save at 14 and Hojgaard matched with a similar-length birdie. Hojgaard then birdied the par-five 16th to cut the margin to four. Both players parred the 17th, and Woodland got up and down from the back of the 18th green for par to complete his first victory in 2,473 days.
After the win Woodland said he didn’t feel alone and credited his team, family and the golf community, adding he hoped others who are struggling would keep fighting.
Other finishers and highlights
Hojgaard was runner-up. Johnny Keefer and defending champion Min Woo Lee tied for third after Lee birdied the final hole to join the share. Sam Stevens finished fifth after consecutive 67s over the weekend. There were two aces in the final round: Adam Scott holed out at the par-three 11th and Shane Lowry recorded a hole-in-one at the par-three second. First-round leader Paul Waring closed with a 74 and finished a shot further back.
What’s next
The PGA Tour moves on to the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio, the final event offering a last-chance path to The Masters; early coverage starts Thursday on Sky Sports Golf.