Gary Woodland
Woodland with the 2019 U.S. Open trophy
Personal information
Full name Gary Lynn Woodland
Born (1984-05-21) May 21, 1984 (age 41)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)[1]
Sporting nationality  United States
Residence Delray Beach, Florida, U.S.[1]
Spouse
Gabby Granado
​
(m. 2016)​
Children 3
Career
College Washburn University
University of Kansas
Turned professional 2007
Current tour PGA Tour
Former tour Nationwide Tour
Professional wins 7
Highest ranking 12 (June 16, 2019)[2]
(as of March 29, 2026)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 5
European Tour 1
Other 2
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T14: 2023
PGA Championship T6: 2018
U.S. Open Won: 2019
The Open Championship T12: 2016
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Courage Award		 2024
Signature

Gary Lynn Woodland[3] (born May 21, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won one major championship, the 2019 U.S. Open.

Originally a collegiate basketball player at Washburn University, Woodland transferred to the University of Kansas to play golf and had a successful amateur career. He turned professional in 2007 and won his first tournament on the PGA Tour in 2011. Following medical problems including surgery on a brain tumor, Woodland won his fifth PGA Tour title at the Houston Open in 2026, which was his first professional victory since the 2019 U.S. Open.

Early life and amateur career

Woodland was born in Topeka, Kansas, on May 21, 1984,[1] the son of Dan and Linda Woodland.[4] He attended Shawnee Heights High School in the suburb of Tecumseh,[5] where he was a four-year letterman in both basketball and golf.[6] As a senior, Woodland became the first all-state basketball selection in Shawnee Heights history. He averaged 18 points per game for the season, including 26 points in the state title match.[7]

After high school, Woodland attended Washburn University in Topeka on a basketball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to attend the University of Kansas in Lawrence on a golf scholarship.[8] He was a backup shooting guard during his freshman season and averaged six points per game. Regarding his decision to switch basketball for golf, Woodland recalled in 2019: "Offensively, I was fine. I could get around, I could do stuff, but defensively I wasn't quick enough. I couldn't keep up. That was the biggest thing. And that was at the Division II level. You talk about Division I level. Our first game was at KU and I learned quickly I needed to find something else."[7]

Woodland won four individual collegiate tournaments during his time with the Kansas Jayhawks: the 2005 Cleveland State Invitational, 2006 Kansas Invitational, 2007 All-American Golf Classic and 2007 Louisiana Classic. He also won the 2005 Kansas Amateur Championship.[6] He graduated with a degree in sociology in 2007 and subsequently started his career as a professional golfer.[9]

Professional career

After turning professional, Woodland played in a handful of tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and 2008.[10] 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.[11]

In 2010, Woodland divided his time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. He continued to struggle for his best form but did not record a single top ten finish on either tour. 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.[12]

Woodland's second tournament of 2011 was the Bob Hope Classic, where he and Jhonattan Vegas finished tied for first place at 27-under-par; Vegas edged out Woodland in a playoff for the title.[13] This was his first top-10 finish on either of the two main tours.[14]

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 what was then a career high 53rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.[15] 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 962 and 2010 591.[14]

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.[16]

Woodland at the 2015 PGA Championship

In February 2018, Woodland won his third PGA Tour event, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a hole-by-hole 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.[17]

Woodland held the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship in 2018 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.[18]

In January 2019, Woodland held the lead entering the final round at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii. He shot a five-under-par 68 but still lost to champion Xander Schauffele who shot a course record-tying 62.[19]

In February 2019, Woodland invited Amy Bockerstette, a collegiate golfer with Down syndrome, to play the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during a Tuesday practice round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. After hitting her tee shot into a greenside bunker, Bockerstette surprised Woodland by parring the hole in front of a roaring crowd. The PGA Tour's video capturing the moment went viral, receiving 43 million views across various social media platforms.[20]

Woodland sinking the winning putt at the 2019 U.S. Open, followed by the trophy presentation

At the U.S. Open in June 2019, Woodland held the 54-hole lead at Pebble Beach Golf Links. On Sunday, he shot a 2-under-par 69 for 271 (−13), which gave him a three-shot margin over the runner-up, two-time defending champion Koepka. Woodland became the fourth champion in U.S. Open history who was double-digits under-par. The victory was his first major and his sixth professional win. In his previous thirty starts in majors, Woodland had only carded two top-ten finishes, both in the PGA Championship (2018, 2019).[21] The win at the U.S. Open moved him from 25th to 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking.[22] At the post-win press conference, Woodland FaceTimed Bockerstette live, telling her "I used your positive energy." Two days later, Woodland joined Bockerstette with a surprise appearance on The Today Show where, pointing to the U.S. Open trophy in Bockerstette's hands, he told her "We won this together."[23]

In December 2019, Woodland played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Woodland went 1–2–1 and lost his Sunday singles match against Im Sung-jae.[24]

Woodland finished runner-up at the Houston Open in March 2025, one stroke behind Min Woo Lee. This was Woodland's first top-5 finish since his brain surgery in 2023.[25][26]

In March 2026, Woodland shot a tournament-record, 21-under 259 at the Houston Open to win the event by five strokes over Nicolai Højgaard. It was Woodland's first professional victory since the 2019 U.S. Open and his fifth PGA Tour victory. The win earned him a spot in the field for the Masters Tournament.[27]

Personal life

Woodland married Gabby Granado in 2016.[28] They had their first child, a son named Jaxson, in 2017. Jaxson was born ten weeks premature; he was originally a twin, but his sibling died in utero.[29][30] The couple had identical twin daughters in 2019.[31]

In August 2023, Woodland announced that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had experienced symptoms since April 2023, such as loss of appetite, regular feelings of fear, and partial seizures. An MRI in May discovered the tumor. Woodland was prescribed anti-seizure medication and continued to play on tour, making six cuts in his seven starts following the MRI. The medication had side effects including memory loss so the decision was made to undergo brain surgery,[32][33] which took place on September 18, 2023.[34] He wrote letters to his wife and children in case he did not survive the operation, but it was successful and he returned to play on the PGA Tour four months later.[35]

In February 2025, Woodland was awarded the PGA Tour Courage Award in recognition of his recovery from surgery.[36] The surgery did not fully remove Woodland's brain tumor and the residual tumor sits near his amygdala, which controls emotions, in particular fear and anxiety.[37] In March 2026, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to episodes of anxiety and hypervigilance since the surgery.[38][39][40]

Amateur wins

  • 2005 Cleveland State Invitational, Kansas Amateur
  • 2006 Kansas Invitational
  • 2007 All-American Golf Classic, Louisiana Classics, Kansas Amateur

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (5)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 20, 2011 Transitions Championship 67-68-67-67=269 −15 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 67-68-67-64=266 −18 Playoff United States Chez Reavie
4 Jun 16, 2019 U.S. Open 68-65-69-69=271 −13 3 strokes United States Brooks Koepka
5 Mar 29, 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open 64-63-65-67=259 −21 5 strokes Denmark Nicolai Højgaard

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 Bob Hope Classic United States Bill Haas, Venezuela Jhonattan Vegas Vegas won with par on second extra hole
Haas eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2013 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

Adams Pro Tour wins (1)

  • 2008 Southwest Kansas Pro-Am

Other wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Nov 27, 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup
(with United States Matt Kuchar)		 64-70-63-67=264 −24 2 strokes  England − Ian Poulter and Justin Rose,
 Germany − Alex Čejka and Martin Kaymer

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2019 U.S. Open 1 shot lead −13 (68-65-69-69=271) 3 strokes United States Brooks Koepka

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
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
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Masters Tournament T32 CUT T40 CUT T14 CUT
PGA Championship T8 T58 T38 T34 CUT T60 CUT
U.S. Open 1 CUT T50 T10 T49 CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT NT CUT CUT T55 T50
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 6
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 4 14 10
U.S. Open 1 0 0 1 2 3 15 9
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 9
Totals 1 0 0 1 4 10 53 34
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2019 PGA – 2019 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship CUT CUT T11 CUT T28 T75 CUT T30
Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
The Players Championship C CUT CUT T54 72 CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Championship T29 T16 T23 T38 T50 T17 T12 43
Match Play R64 R64 2 T39 T29 T17 NT1
Invitational T45 T19 T57 T63 T17 T55 T57
Champions T56 T23 T47 NT1 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

  • World Cup: 2011 (winners)
  • Presidents Cup: 2019 (winners)

See also

  • 2008 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
  • 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Gary Woodland – Bio". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  2. ^ "Week 24 2019 Ending 16 Jun 2019" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "PGA Tour Media Guide 2018-19" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 2-271. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Dethier, Dylan (June 16, 2019). "U.S. Open 2019: 5 things to know about Gary Woodland". Golf Magazine. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "Kansas Jayhawks profile". Archived from the original on January 20, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Gary Woodland - 1890-91 - Men's Golf". University of Kansas Athletics. October 19, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  7. ^ a b Weinfuss, Josh (March 21, 2019). "How one hoops game against Kansas made Gary Woodland realize golf was his sport". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  8. ^ "PGA Tour – What they said: Gary Woodland". PGA Tour. January 22, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  9. ^ Feinstein, John (August 12, 2019). "There's something about Gary Woodland". Golf Digest.
  10. ^ "Gary Woodland – Profile". PGA Tour.
  11. ^ Bisel, Tim (January 22, 2011). "Column: Hey world, meet Gary Woodland". The Topeka Capital-Journal.
  12. ^ Ross, Helen (December 7, 2010). "Q-School: 29 players earned 2011 Tour cards". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010.
  13. ^ "Vegas Hangs On". Golf Digest. Associated Press. January 23, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Gary Woodland – Form Guide". Official World Golf Ranking.
  15. ^ "Week 12 – Gary Woodland Wins The Transitions Championship And Jumps To World Number 53". Official World Golf Ranking. March 21, 2011.
  16. ^ "Gary Woodland – Best Performances". Official World Golf Ranking.
  17. ^ "Gary Woodland beats Chez Reavie on first hole in Phoenix Open playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 5, 2018.
  18. ^ Porter, Kyle; Patterson, Chip (August 12, 2018). "2018 PGA Championship leaderboard, scores: Brooks Koepka beasts his way to second major of season". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018.
  19. ^ Shedloski, Dave (January 6, 2019). "Xander Schauffele again a come from behind winner, this time with a final round 62 in Sentry Tournament of Champions". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Stachura, Mike (June 15, 2019). "A deeper look at a viral moment reveals an invaluable lesson about golf—and life". Golf Digest. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. ^ O'Connor, Ian (June 17, 2019). "Gary Woodland's journey through heartbreak to U.S. Open champion". ESPN. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Woodland on the verge of cracking top 10 in world ranking". Golf Channel. June 17, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Stump, Scott (June 18, 2019). "Watch US Open champ Gary Woodland surprise young golfer who inspired him". Today.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  24. ^ Dusek, David (December 15, 2019). "Presidents Cup grades: Captains, Royal Melbourne score high marks". Golfweek. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  25. ^ Jourdan, Cameron. "Which golfers have risen the most in the Official World Golf Ranking since start of 2025?". Golfweek. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  26. ^ "'Hard year for me:' Gary Woodland making emotional FedEx Cup Playoffs charge at Wyndham". Golf Magazine. August 2, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  27. ^ "Gary Woodland wins the Houston Open for first PGA Tour title since brain surgery". Associated Press News. March 29, 2026. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  28. ^ "Development of China Tour ahead of schedule". ESPN. Associated Press. November 1, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  29. ^ "Gary, Gabby Woodland welcome newborn son". The Topeka Capital-Journal. June 24, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  30. ^ Hennessey, Stephen (August 10, 2017). "PGA Championship 2017: Gary Woodland is taking his emotional year in stride". Golf Digest.
  31. ^ Hoggard, Rex (August 6, 2019). "Woodland thankful for healthy newborn twins, but made it 'tough to play'". Golf Channel.
  32. ^ "Gary Woodland's brain lesion wracked him with fear. Now, he's back on Tour". Golf Magazine. January 10, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  33. ^ Lavner, Ryan (January 10, 2024). "Fear, thoughts of death: Gary Woodland describes harrowing journey that led to brain surgery". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  34. ^ Coffin, Jay (September 18, 2023). "Gary Woodland resting after lengthy surgery to remove brain tumor". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  35. ^ Broadbent, Rick (February 28, 2025). "Gary Woodland: I wrote letters to family in case I didn't survive brain surgery". The Times. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  36. ^ "Gary Woodland wins PGA Tour Courage Award after brain surgery". ESPN. February 26, 2025.
  37. ^ D'Angelo, Tom (February 26, 2025). "Gary Woodland's courage, journey battling through a brain tumor is inspiring". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  38. ^ Antonucci, Lisa (March 9, 2026). "Emotional Gary Woodland opens up about PTSD diagnosis ahead of The Players". PGA Tour.
  39. ^ Schrock, Josh (March 28, 2026). "'Got 1,000 pounds off my back:' Houston leader Gary Woodland freed up after PTSD reveal". Golf Magazine.
  40. ^ "Gary Woodland: Done wasting energy trying to hide PTSD". ESPN. March 9, 2026.
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