Former Kansas Jayhawks golfer Gary Woodland places in top 10 at U.S. Open
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- Gary Woodland tied for seventh at the U.S. Open with a 1-over 281 total.
- Woodland earned $617,090 from the $22.5 million U.S. Open purse for his finish.
- Woodland returned from 2023 brain surgery and won the Houston Open earlier this season.
Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland earned $617,090 for placing in a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open, which concluded Sunday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island in New York.
Woodland, who turned 42 on May 21, shot a 2-under-par 68 on Sunday, which combined with rounds of 67, 73, 73 placed him at 1-over-par 281, just five strokes back of the 276 shot by Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Sam Burns placed second at 3-under-par 277. Tom Kim placed third at 1-under 279. J.T. Poston, Keith Mitchell, Scottie Scheffler tied for fourth at even-par 280.
Three golfers joined Topeka native Woodland at 1-over-par including Wichita native Sam Stevens, who like Woodland earned $617,090. The money totals for each golfer from the purse of $22.5 million were released by pgatour.com.
Stevens, 29, is a graduate of Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita and Oklahoma State University. Woodland attended Shawnee Heights High School, Washburn and KU.
Woodland’s round Sunday included three birdies, one bogey.
Woodland, who turned pro in 2007, won the U.S. Open in 2019. He has one victory this season (Houston Open) with four top-10 finishes and a No. 45 world ranking. He’s finished in the top-25 six times this season.
In majors this year, he tied for 33rd at the Masters and did not make the cut at the PGA.
Woodland won the Texas Open by five strokes over Nicolai Hojgaard. It was his fifth tour victory and first since the 2019 U.S. Open. His other tour victories include the 2011 Transitions Championship, the 2013 Reno-Tahoe Open and the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
He’s in the midst of a remarkable comeback. He had surgery to remove a significant portion of a benign tumor on his brain on Sept. 18, 2023. He returned to the tour in 2024.
“For all that Gary has been through the last few years — from the brain surgery to opening his heart and soul to the world about his recent challenges — and then to show such resilience and mental toughness, while playing great golf, made for an incredible win and moment. It was not just a great win for Gary and his family, but a great victory for the game of golf,” Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus said after the Houston Open.
Woodland — he competed at KU from 2003 through 2007 — a few months ago told The Golf Channel that PTSD has had him breaking down and crying in the middle of rounds in which he’s tried desperately to hide his tears from fans and fellow competitors. The lesion that was removed is from the part of the brain that causes moments of unfounded fear.
Woodland played basketball one season at Washburn before heading to KU on golf scholarship. He played for the Ichabods against the Jayhawks in an exhibition game during the 2002-03 preseason at Allen Fieldhouse.
