Gary Woodland surges to a 3-shot
lead at the Houston Open, shortly after revealing PTSD diagnosis
[March 28, 2026]
HOUSTON (AP) — Gary Woodland felt a weight lifted from
speaking publicly about his mental health struggles, and he looked
freer than ever Friday with a 7-under 63 in the Houston Open to
build a three-shot lead going into the weekend at Memorial Park.
Woodland sounded more pleased with not getting down about one bad
swing than his finish of three straight birdies that allowed him to
build some separation.
He was at 13-under 127, three ahead of Nicolai Hjogaard (62) and
Jackson Suber (63) on a comfortable day of good scoring for most
everyone.
Brooks Koepka was an exception. Coming off a 75 marred by three
double bogeys in the first round, Koepka had a triple bogey on the
par-3 second hole, his 11th of the day. He shot 69 to miss the cut
for the second time since his return from LIV Golf.
Woodland wasn't dialed in off the tee, hitting only five fairways,
but Memorial Park has enough room to let it fly and he was rarely
out of position. He finished off his round with a wedge to 3 feet on
the par-5 16th, a 15-foot birdie on the 17th and a 12-foot birdie on
the 18th.
But what stuck with him was a tee shot he yanked into the water left
of the 13th fairway, leading to a penalty drop and ultimately having
to make a 4-foot putt to escape with bogey.
“I was proud of myself because what Randy Smith, my coach, calls an
‘oops.’ I had a bad swing there on 13, and I’ve hit it so well the
last couple days, I didn’t let that bother me,” Woodland said. “I
told myself to forget about it and move on, and I was able to do
that. That was a big change for me to let that go and keep doing
what I’ve been doing the last couple days.”
The 2019 U.S. Open champion has been playing a well-rounded game, in
control of his swing and confident on the greens after he realized
his alignment was off and changed his putter to help.
Mostly, he feels big support and greater comfort following his
decision to publicly talk about his battle with post-traumatic
stress disorder. Woodland is recovering from September 2023 brain
surgery to remove a lesion on a part of the brain that causes
moments of unfounded fear.
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Gary Woodland putts on the ninth green during the first round of the
Texas Children's Houston Open golf tournament Thursday, March 26,
2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
He felt “1,000 pounds lighter" after that Golf
Channel interview. And he's feeling it from the gallery in Houston
as he goes after a win would get him in the Masters.
“There’s no doubt, and I feed off that,” Woodland said. “This as
much as any week, I feel like I’ve had a lot of support. Kind of
feel like I’m playing at home. The fans have been amazing. I kind of
need that energy to help me through the day, that definitely helps.
That’s something hopefully I can ride on this weekend as well.”
Hojgaard also has the Masters on his mind. He is No. 47 in the world
ranking, and the top 50 after this week secure invitations to
Augusta National in two weeks. Hojgaard removed a lot of doubt with
his round of 62. He did Woodland one better, making birdies on his
last four holes.
“It’s so easy to say it’s not on my mind, good golf will take care
of it,” Hojgaard said of the Masters. “It's on my mind 100 percent.
We all want to be there. But when I’m playing golf out there, I
didn’t think about it today. I feel like my game is good enough to
qualify for it, but there’s two more days here in Houston and I like
where my game is at."
Defending champion Min Woo Lee and Jason Day each shot 63 and were
four shots behind, with Michael Thorbjornsen (64) another shot back.
Thorbjornsen is at No. 56 in the world — he lost a big opportunity
to move up with a rough Sunday at The Players Championship — but he
is in good shape going into the weekend in Houston.
Pierceson Coody's chances of the Masters took a big hit. The
grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody is at No. 51 in the
world. But he was forced to withdraw with a back injury Friday
morning. He is projected to go to No. 50, but would need no one to
pass him.
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