{"id":553944,"date":"2026-03-30T09:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/553944\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T09:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:33:14","slug":"gary-woodland-wins-texas-childrens-houston-open-for-first-pga-tour-title-since-brain-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/553944\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Woodland wins Texas Children&#8217;s Houston Open for first PGA TOUR title since brain surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>11H AGO<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-lqkr0z\">5 Min Read<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"chakra-link css-1jfg7sy\" role=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pgatour.com\/news\/daily-wrapup\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-lqkr0z\">Daily Wrap Up<\/p>\n<p><\/a>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:&#8221;&#8221;;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774854729_187_image.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Woodland sinks his par to win Texas Children's\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-16ejlxd\">Gary Woodland sinks his par to win Texas Children&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p>Win makes Woodland eligible for the Masters in two weeks<\/p>\n<p>*:not(style)~*:not(style){margin-top:0.5rem;-webkit-margin-end:0px;margin-inline-end:0px;margin-bottom:0px;-webkit-margin-start:0px;margin-inline-start:0px;}]]><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-lqkr0z\">A<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-17sz9ey\">Change Text Size<\/p>\n<p>Written by Associated Press<\/p>\n<p>Win makes Woodland eligible for the Masters in two weeks<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Gary Woodland won the Texas Children&#8217;s Houston Open on Sunday, an emotional moment that seemed so improbable 30 months ago <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"chakra-link css-vqpqpw\" role=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/gary-woodland-brain-surgery-sony-open-af85283245984c62f181f528b1af8f17\">when he had brain surgery<\/a>, and even two weeks ago when he opened up about his frightening struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">Woodland looked better than ever at Memorial Park, taking a one-shot lead into the final round and stretching it to seven shots until coasting home to a trophy that felt as big as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"chakra-link css-vqpqpw\" role=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/gary-woodland-wins-us-open-at-pebble-beach-c9ef7886e89d48febc971b4565d0f5dc\">his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach in 2019.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">He closed with a 3-under 67 to win by five shots over Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard. The gallery paused chanting his name so Woodland could roll in a 5-foot par putt. He stretched both arms, exhaled and looked to the blue sky before his tears began pouring.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">\u201cWe play an individual sport out here, but I wasn&#8217;t alone today,\u201d Woodland said, his voice quivering with emotion. \u201cAnyone struggling with something, I hope they see me and don&#8217;t give up. Just keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:&#8221;&#8221;;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774854730_164_image.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Woodland sinks 28-foot birdie putt on No. 9 at Texas Children's\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-16ejlxd\">Gary Woodland sinks 28-foot birdie putt on No. 9 at Texas Children&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">Woodland has been a popular figure and powerful player since he left a two-sport college career and joined the PGA TOUR But he began to struggle in 2023, only to learn he had a lesion on the part of his brain that caused unfounded fears that he was dying.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">Surgery in September 2023, which involved a baseball-sized hole cut from the side of his head, removed much of the lesion. His return in January 2024 looked fine on the outside, particularly last year when he was runner-up at Texas Children&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">\u201cI appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I\u2019m dying, and I feel like I\u2019m living a lie,\u201d he said in the interview. \u201cI want to live my dreams and be successful out here. But I want to help people, too. I realize now I\u2019ve got to help myself first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">He said this week going public made him feel \u201c1,000 pounds lighter.\u201d He still has moments, such as fans getting too close to him on the ninth tee Friday that made him hypervigilant. He said he was in tears in scoring after the second round before he reset and got on with his routine.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">\u201cComing out, talking and asking for help, I didn\u2019t do that last year. I didn\u2019t do that early this year,\u201d Woodland said. \u201cI&#8217;m in a fight. With the love and support I have around me, I have hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">His physical strength sure didn&#8217;t leave him. Woodland reached 196 mph ball speed on one tee shot Sunday, and more striking was the smooth control he showed over every shot.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774863191_118_image.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Woodland hits 72-yard approach to 1 foot, sets up birdie on No. 8 at Texas Children's\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-16ejlxd\">Gary Woodland hits 72-yard approach to 1 foot, sets up birdie on No. 8 at Texas Children&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">He finished at 21-under 259 for his first victory since the U.S. Open, and the fifth of his career. This one came with a big bonus \u2014 it makes him eligible for the Masters in two weeks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">H\u00f8jgaard fell back with a double bogey on the par-5 seventh hole. He closed with a 71 and a consolation prize. He secured his position inside the top 50 in the world \u2014 going from No. 47 to No. 36 \u2014 to earn his invitation to the Masters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">H\u00f8jgaard and defending champion Min Woo Lee (67) chose to stay back on their way to the 18th green to give Woodland the stage to himself, a gesture rarely seen outside the majors. It spoke to Woodland&#8217;s standing on the PGA TOUR.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">\u201cWe thought it was appropriate to let him have his moment,\u201d H\u00f8jgaard said. \u201cIt was a pretty cool moment for Gary and it was cool to see. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774863192_155_image.jpg\" alt=\"Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard hits 155-yard approach to 25 feet, sets up birdie on No. 16 at Texas Children's\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-16ejlxd\">Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard hits 155-yard approach to 25 feet, sets up birdie on No. 16 at Texas Children&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">Woodland felt huge relief by sharing his PTSD struggles, and he had some technical help with his golf. He went to a new putter to help his alignment, and he consulted coach Randy Smith before going to stiffer shafts in his irons because his speed had returned and that helped him have better control of his shots.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">There was no chance controlling his emotions, certainly over the last hour when the outcome was obvious and the 18th hole when it became reality.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">But he said it&#8217;s still golf, and there&#8217;s still a battle with his recovery from brain surgery.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">\u201cIt&#8217;s just another day. Today was a good day,\u201d Woodland said with a smile and a short laugh. \u201cBut I&#8217;ve got a big fight ahead of me, and I&#8217;m going to keep going. But I&#8217;m proud of myself right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">His wife, Gabby, was with him all 18 holes with their three children at home. Woodland has said his wife was key to get him through surgery and what followed. \u201cThis has been hard on me. It&#8217;s been a lot harder on her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">The victory moves him to No. 51 in the world \u2014 his highest ranking in five years \u2014 and makes him eligible for all the PGA TOUR&#8217;s remaining elite events this season.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774863192_200_image.jpg\" alt=\"Pocket aces: Shane Lowry, Adam Scott hit dueling final-round holes-in-one at Texas Children's\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-16ejlxd\">Pocket aces: Shane Lowry, Adam Scott hit dueling final-round holes-in-one at Texas Children&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family:var(--font-suisse-intl), &quot;Suisse Intl&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.7rem;line-height:2.6rem;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0rem;position:relative\">Michael Thorbjornsen was in position to move into the top 50 and get into the Masters until he made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine and stumbled to a 72 to finish well outside the top 10. &#8230; Shane Lowry made a hole-in-one on the second hole, his fourth on the PGA TOUR. The others came on No. 7 at Pebble Beach, No. 17 at the TPC Sawgrass and No. 12 at Augusta National. Adam Scott also made an ace on the 11th hole. &#8230; PGA TOUR rookie Johnny Keefer shot 64 and tied for third.<\/p>\n<p>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:&#8221;&#8221;;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]><img alt=\"Image for article.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-fit:cover;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774755492_592_woodland_r2.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mar 28, 2026<\/p>\n<p><a role=\"link\" class=\"chakra-linkbox__overlay css-1hnz6hu\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pgatour.com\/article\/news\/daily-wrapup\/2026\/03\/27\/texas-childrens-houston-open-leaderboard-gary-woodland-leads-round-2-memorial-park\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Woodland surges to lead in Houston shortly after revealing PTSD diagnosis<\/a><a class=\"chakra-link css-1jfg7sy\" role=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pgatour.com\/news\/daily-wrapup\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Daily Wrap Up<\/a><img alt=\"Image for article.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-fit:cover;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/woodland_r3.jpg\"\/><img alt=\"Image for article.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-fit:cover;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Waring-R1.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"11H AGO 5 Min Read Daily Wrap Up *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:&#8221;&#8221;;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]&gt; Gary Woodland sinks his par to win Texas Children&#8217;s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-553944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}