{"id":357224,"date":"2026-03-31T18:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357224\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:37:14","slug":"min-woo-lee-and-nicolai-hojgaard-gave-gary-woodland-the-ultimate-show-of-respect-on-the-72nd-hole-in-houston-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357224\/","title":{"rendered":"Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard gave Gary Woodland the ultimate show of respect on the 72nd hole in Houston \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a long road back for Gary Woodland<\/a>. In September 2023, the former US Open winner underwent surgery<\/a> to remove a lesion from his brain that was inducing extreme panic attacks, anxiety and feelings of fear. The procedure required doctors to cut a tennis ball-sized hole in Woodland\u2019s skull, and though successful, it left his PGA Tour career in doubt.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Gary Woodland didn\u2019t beat PTSD. He just refused to let it win<\/a><\/p>\n

But Woodland is nothing if not a fighter, and yesterday at the Houston Open \u2013 just weeks after revealing his ongoing battle with PTSD<\/a> stemming from the illness \u2013 he capped his remarkable comeback with one of the most emotional wins<\/a> in recent PGA Tour history.<\/p>\n

As Woodland strode up the 18th fairway with the lead, the gallery roared him on. It was the coronation he deserved and then some, but it wouldn\u2019t have been quite the same if not for the respect showed by Woodland\u2019s playing partners Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard, who purposefully hung back to give him his moment.<\/p>\n

Respect.<\/p>\n

Nico Hojgaard and Min Woo Lee spoke and agreed to hang back and let @GaryWoodland<\/a> have his moment on the 72nd hole. https:\/\/t.co\/aEM2ymWRbx<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8EZvjcVQJB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

RELATED: PGA Tour pro explains why he recently withdrew from Monday qualifier while in contention<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah we (playing partner Min Woo Lee) talked about it, I thought it was appropriate to make him have his moment,\u201d Hojgaard said when asked if the move was intentional. \u201cIt was a pretty cool moment for Gary. It was cool to see and I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee went a step further, urging the crowd on as Woodland made his way towards the 18th green.<\/p>\n

Hell yeah, @Minwoo27Lee<\/a>. \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/nm3OKjactF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Skratch (@Skratch) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

RELATED: Rory McIlroy shares the wild disagreement he had with Bryson DeChambeau during the final round of the 2025 Masters<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazing stuff. While the moment belonged to Woodland, it was an incredible show of sportsmanship and emotional intelligence from Hojgaard and Lee, who were no doubt privy to some of the mental struggles Woodland dealt with throughout the week in Houston. Much is made of golf etiquette, some good and some bad, but it\u2019s moments like this that remind us why golf\u2019s unspoken codes of conduct are so important.<\/p>\n