Gary Woodland

Gary Woodland
Woodland at the 2018 U.S. Open
Personal information
Born (1984-05-21) May 21, 1984
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Shawnee, Kansas
Partner Gabby Granado
Children Jackson
Career
College Washburn University
University of Kansas
Turned professional 2007
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Former tour(s) Nationwide Tour
Professional wins 5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 3
Other 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T24: 2011
U.S. Open T23: 2011
The Open Championship T12: 2016
PGA Championship T6: 2018

Gary Woodland (born May 21, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Early life

Woodland was born in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Dan and Linda Woodland. He attended Shawnee Heights High School in the suburb of Tecumseh.[1] After high school, he attended Washburn University on a basketball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to attend the University of Kansas on a golf scholarship.[2] He studied Sociology while at KU. Woodland had a successful collegiate golf career, winning four tournaments before turning professional in 2007.

Professional career

After turning professional, Woodland played in a handful of tournaments on the second-tier Nationwide Tour in 2007 and 2008.[3] At the end of the 2008 season, he entered the Qualifying school for the PGA Tour, and finished in a tie for 11th, which was good enough to earn him a full card to play on the PGA Tour in 2009. However, he struggled for form in his debut season, making just eight cuts in 18 appearances before a shoulder injury cut his golfing year short in July.[4]

In 2010, Woodland divided his time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. He continued to struggle for his best form, not recording a single top ten finish on either tour, but he did display enough consistency to finish 92nd in the Nationwide Tour money list. Once again, he entered the season-ending qualifying school, and again he finished T-11, to secure a return to full PGA Tour status.

In his second tournament of 2011, the Bob Hope Classic, he finished in a tie for first at 27-under-par, but was edged out for the title by Jhonattan Vegas in a playoff.[5] This was his first top-10 finish on either of the two main tours.

In March 2011, Woodland won his first PGA Tour title at the Transitions Championship by one stroke when fellow American Webb Simpson missed a par putt on the final hole. Just a few moments earlier Woodland had scrambled a fantastic par from the same position as Simpson on the last, after hitting his second shot over the back of the green. This win secured Woodland a place at the 2011 Masters Tournament and also elevated him to a career high 53rd in the Official World Golf Rankings.[6] He later earned an invitation into the U.S. Open after moving into the Top 50. He left the tournament with an OWGR ranking of 39th. In November 2011, he won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup with Matt Kuchar. He finished 2011 ranked 17th on the PGA Tour money list and 51st in the OWGR. He had ended 2009 ranked 959th and 2010 588th.

Woodland reached the final of the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play, where he lost to Rory McIlroy, and moved to a career-best 32nd in the OWGR.

In February 2018, Woodland won his third PGA Tour event, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a sudden-death playoff over Chez Reavie. After finishing tied at 18 under, Woodland won with a par on the first extra hole to end a five year drought on tour. Woodland moved up to fifth in the season's FedEx Cup standings.[7]

Woodland held the 36-hole lead at the 2018 PGA Championship, with a total 130, which was a tournament record through the first two rounds. He led by a stroke over Kevin Kisner at the halfway stage. He started the final round at nine under par, three shots behind leader Brooks Koepka. He finished in a tie for sixth with a score of 10 under par, six strokes behind the winner Koepka.[8]

Amateur wins (6)

  • 2005 (2) Cleveland State Invitational, Kansas Amateur
  • 2006 (1) Kansas Invitational
  • 2007 (3) All-American Golf Classic, Louisiana Classics, Kansas Amateur

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 20, 2011 Transitions Championship −15 (67-68-67-67=269) 1 stroke United States Webb Simpson
2 Aug 4, 2013 Reno–Tahoe Open* 44 pts (14-7-16-7=44) 9 points United States Jonathan Byrd, Argentina Andrés Romero
3 Feb 4, 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open −18 (67-68-67-64=266) Playoff United States Chez Reavie

* The Reno–Tahoe Open used Modified Stableford scoring.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.SeasonTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2011 Bob Hope Classic Venezuela Jhonattan Vegas, United States Bill Haas Vegas won with par on the second extra hole
Haas eliminated with birdie on first hole
2 2014 CIMB Classic United States Ryan Moore Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open United States Chez Reavie Won with par on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament2009201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament T24 WD T26 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open T47 CUT T23 CUT T52 CUT T50 T36
The Open Championship T30 T34 T39 T58 T12 T70 T67
PGA Championship T12 T42 74 CUT CUT T22 T6
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000163
U.S. Open00000185
The Open Championship00000177
PGA Championship00001375
Totals0000162820
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2012 Open – 2014 Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (current)

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament20112012201320142015201620172018
Mexico Championship T29 T16 T23 T38 T50
Match Play R64 R64 2 T39 T29
Bridgestone Invitational T45 T19 T57 T63 T17
HSBC Champions T56 T23 T47
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. Kansas Jayhawks profile Archived 2011-01-20 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. PGA Tour – What they said: Gary Woodland Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. PGA Tour – Player profile
  4. Topeka Capital-Journal – Hey world, meet Gary Woodland
  5. The Associated Press – Jhonattan Vegas wins Hope Classic in Playoff
  6. Week 12 - Gary Woodland Wins The Transitions Championship And Jumps To World Number 53
  7. "Gary Woodland beats Chez Reavie on first hole in Phoenix Open playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 5, 2018.
  8. Porter, Kyle; Patterson, Chip (August 12, 2018). "2018 PGA Championship leaderboard, scores: Brooks Koepka beasts his way to second major of season". CBS Sports.
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