Comeback continues as former KU golfer Gary Woodland makes Friday cut at Masters
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Woodland shot 1-under 71 and 3-over 75 for a 2-over 146.
- Woodland has had an armed security guard in close proximity throughout the tournament.
- Woodland won the 2026 Houston Open and remains in contention for a top-20 finish.
Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland has made the cut for the third time at a PGA Tour major championship since undergoing brain surgery in September 2023.
Woodland, 41, who fired a 1-under-par 71 in the opening round of The Masters on Thursday at Augusta National in Georgia, shot a 3-over 75 Friday. His two-day total of 2-over 146 had him in a tie for 39th at the halfway point of the prestigious event.
All golfers scoring 4-over or better qualified for the third round of the tourney, to begin Saturday morning.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy, at 12-under-par, holds a commanding 6-shot lead over Sam Burns and Patrick Reed.
Well behind McIlroy, Woodland, the 2026 Houston Open winner who made the cut at the 2024 PGA Championship and 2024 Open Championship following rehab from surgery, is not currently in the hunt for the 2026 Masters title. He remains in contention for a top-20 finish, however.
Woodland and six other golfers have shot 2-over after 36 holes. Four golfers are tied for 20th at 1-under-par.
Woodland is playing in his first Masters since 2024, when he missed the cut. He finished tied for 14th in 2023.
Woodland double-bogeyed the second hole Friday but birdied the third. He went on to record four bogeys and two additional birdies on the day to finish 3-over.
Woodland, who recently revealed an ongoing battle against PTSD, has had an armed security guard in close proximity the entire tourney. According to dailymail.com, the guard “has hovered near the edge of every green and every fairway. He has walked with the world No 52 player between every hole. On tight tee boxes, his caddy has ensured that either he or his bag stands between Woodland and the crowd.”
Woodland said after his opening round that security at Augusta National has done “a good job. They have been with me since I got here on Sunday,” he explained, “so I have a better idea where they are at. They were amazing. Butchy (caddy Brennan Little) and I are learning, too. There are some tight tee boxes back there, so making sure the bag is behind me or Butchy is standing behind me really helps calm me down a lot.”
Woodland and Justin Thomas will tee off as the seventh group of the day at 9:48 a.m. Saturday.
Woodland is playing in his 13th Masters overall but his first since 2024. In consecutive weeks in March, he finished tied for 14th in Tampa and won in Houston.
His 5-stroke victory in Texas was his fifth on the PGA Tour and first since 2019, when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
He received the Ben Hogan Award from the Golf Writers Association of America in 2024 and the PGA Tour Courage Award in 2025 for returning to competitive golf after undergoing surgery to remove a brain lesion in September 2023.
He’s felt support from the gallery this week in Georgia.
“The love and support is amazing,” he said. “Obviously here everyone is so respectful anyway, but the love and support I got out there was awesome.”
