Looking at the Last 7 Years of Gary Woodland

The sports world saw a special moment this past weekend in Houston, Texas. Gary Woodland won his first tournament in seven years after he won the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course. However, this was not an easy journey for Woodland, and this win went beyond the game itself. Let’s rewind.

June 2019- U.S. Open

On June 16th, 2019, Woodland won his first major, the U.S. Open. The event was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. He successfully defeated Brooks Koepka by three strokes to secure the win.

Despite his win in the major, he would struggle the rest of the season with two missed cuts and only find the top 15 once at the Tour Championship.

2019-2020 Season

Since this was the COVID season, 11 tournaments were cancelled, and Woodland played 18 total events. This was a pretty successful season for him, as he had seven top-10 finishes and missed the cut only three times.

Woodland’s best event this season was The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, where he finished tied for third. He stayed consistent until missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, which was his worst performance that season.

2020-2021 Season

This was a struggling season from start to finish, worse than the previous season. Woodland would miss the cut in 11 of the 25 tournaments he played and had one withdrawal. He would only see the Top-10 in the leaderboard three times that season.

Despite the disappointing season for him, he would finish fifth in the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club, which was his best performance that year.

2021-2022 Season

This season did not differ much from the year before. Woodland would only make the cut in 11 of the 23 tournaments he played. However, he would have five events in the Top-10.

Woodland’s best performance in this season was The Honda Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, which happened to be back-to-back weekends. He would finish both of these tied for fifth.

April-September 2023

In April of 2023, Woodland started experiencing partial seizures, anxiety and fear, which started to affect him. However, he continued to play through it, but did not find himself placing anywhere near the Top-10.

Fast forward to August of 2023, Woodland would officially announce that he had a lesion/benign tumor that was located in his brain, which was the result of these symptoms.

A month later, in September 2023, Woodland officially had surgery to remove the tumor, and his golf career took a pause.

January 2024

At the Sony Open in Hawaii, Woodland would make his return to the PGA, 114 days after his surgery. Despite missing the cut, fans were excited to see him return to play.

The rest of the season was a bit of a struggle, but many fans were glad to see his return to the game.

March 2025

In a recent interview this past March, Woodland was diagnosed with PTSD due to his surgery in 2023 and the symptoms he had previous to that surgery.

Despite his diagnosis, the golfer continued to play on the PGA Tour and would only miss the cut three times after March.

2026 Season- Up Until The Texas Children’s Houston Open

Woodland would start this tour season on the down as he missed the cut four times. Before the Valspar Championship, in the two events in which he made the cut, he finished 72nd and T64.

In the Valspar Championship, he would improve his game and sneak up the leaderboard and finish the weekend T14, his best finish since the Charles Schwab Challenge in May 2025, where he finished T11.

March 2026- Texas Children’s Houston Open

Woodland would start the weekend off strong by shooting a six-under, 64. He would continue to play well going into Sunday, but Nicolai Højgaard would sit hot on his heels with his -8, 62 on Friday and -7, 63 on Saturday.

Despite the close competition, Højgaard would not be able to keep up and would finish Sunday +1, 72. However, this left the door open for Woodland to get his first win in seven years and his first since his surgery and PTSD diagnosis.

He would do it. Woodland would shoot -3, 67 to get a commanding five-stroke win in the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Needless to say, fans will definitely be watching more of Woodland in tournaments to come. However, his story is one that will be remembered forever.

Julia Nawalany is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email jrn5527@psu.edu