Tied for sixth, former KU golfer Gary Woodland has a shot at victory at Heritage
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- Gary Woodland is tied for sixth at 12-under-par entering the final round at the RBC Heritage.
- Woodland shot a 5-under-par 66 on Saturday after earlier rounds of 65 and 70.
- Woodland is mounting a comeback after September 2023 brain surgery and PTSD struggles.
Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland, who won the Houston Open the last weekend of March, is in contention for yet another PGA Tour title entering the final round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Woodland, 41, shot a 5-under-par 66 on Saturday. That combined with his rounds of 65 and 70 placed him in a tie for sixth at 12-under-par 201 entering Sunday’s final 18-hole round.
Matt Fitzpatrick at 17-under-par 196 holds a 3-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler. Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim and Sepp Straka are 4 strokes out of first place, while Woodland, Andrew Novak, Aldrich Potgieter, Ludvig Aberg and Patrick Cantlay are in a group at 12-under.
Woodland is 5 shots off the lead but just 2 strokes out of second place.
“It’s nice,” Woodland said after Saturday’s round, referring to being “back in the mix” for a title so soon after winning in Houston.
Woodland placed 33rd at last week’s Masters and won $121,500 in prize money.
“It shows that I have a lot of good people around me helping me get through some tough times. But I’m proud of myself for the way I fought today and hung in there. It started getting a little tough there late. The wind picked up a little bit, so happy with where I’m at,” Woodland added.
Woodland is in the midst of a comeback from brain surgery in September of 2023. He also has experienced major problems with PTSD on the golf course.
“I’m battling a lot more emotions than winning out here. I’m focused on trying to take care of myself and get through the day. Obviously I’m playing nice, which helps, but we’ll take it one step at a time,” Woodland said Saturday.
On Saturday, Woodland, who played at KU from 2003 to 2007, shot 4-under 32 on the front nine. He eagled No. 2 and birdied No. 3.
“I mean, the game top to bottom has been very good,” Woodland said. “It was nice to get off to a good start today, make that eagle early, see a putt go in. I’ve hit it very nice this week but haven’t seen a ton of putts go in, and I saw some long ones today which is nice. Hopefully that gets the lid off tomorrow for us. I’ve been riding a lot of confidence over the last couple weeks, and carried that into today.”
Woodland obviously would love for this current streak of exceptional golf to continue.
“I think my game is as complete as it’s ever been, which is nice,” Woodland said. “I’m not fighting the golf game, I’m fighting my head. But very confident where the game is. I’m comfortable hitting multiple shots again, which is nice. I feel very comfortable with the putter, which makes everything a little bit easier.”
Woodland said he’s coming off a week at the Masters that “was tough, one of the harder weeks I’ve probably had. Patrons are very close there on a lot of those tee boxes. Out here, it’s different for me. On a lot of the tee boxes we have signage at the back. I have somewhere I can stand where at least I feel pretty safe. Security last week was amazing, did everything they can to help me feel safe. The PGA Tour has done it all year. They’ve been amazing. They were with me today. I need it. I’m in a tough spot, but we’ll keep learning, and we’ll keep getting better.”
Woodland — his victory in Houston has made him eligible for all events this season — plans on resting next week before participating in three consecutive tourneys including the Cadillac Championship at Doral and the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia.
