Detroit News wire services
Gary Woodland not only won a golf tournament Sunday, but he conquered a whole lot more.
He shot 3-under-par 67 in the final round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly seven years. During that gap, he underwent 2023 brain surgery.
He recently shared that he’s coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, so the victory was understandably ripe with emotion.
“We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland said. “I got a lot of people behind me, my team, my family and this golf world. Anybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up, just keep fighting.”
Woodland finished at 21-under 259 for four rounds at Memorial Park Golf Course, where he tied for second place last year.
Woodland won by five strokes over Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who carded 71 for the final round.
It’s Woodland’s fifth victory on the PGA Tour, but first since the 2019 U.S. Open. The brain surgery involved removing a tumor.
“I’ve got a big fight ahead of me and I’m going to keep going, but I’m proud of myself right now,” Woodland said.
What Woodland has been through in the surgery’s aftermath has gained him admirers among his golf peers.
“Just really look up to him as a mate who put it out there just a couple weeks ago on television, what he’s dealing with,” Australia’s Adam Scott said. “It is inspirational.”
Woodland went 4 under on the front side, boosted by consecutive birdies on Nos. 7-9, to build a six-stroke advantage. When Hojgaard bogeyed No. 10, the margin moved to seven shots.
“Nice to stay in the fight on the back nine and thought if I made the eagle on 16, something interesting could happen the last two,” Hojgaard said. “And then when I didn’t make the eagle, I felt like I couldn’t reach him.”
Johnny Keefer shot 64 to rise to a third-place tie at 15 under with defending champion Min Woo Lee of Australia (67). Sam Stevens (67) was fifth at 14 under. It’s the first top-10 finish for Keefer, a 25-year-old rookie.
Jake Knapp made a huge jump with a bogey-free 62 to tie the course record, finishing his round by the time the final group was wrapping up the front side. His 43-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th was among the highlights.
“I still didn’t drive it necessarily amazing, but was able to control distances and hit it pretty well into the greens to give myself a bunch of looks,” Knapp said.
Knapp, Chris Gotterup (65), Australia’s Jason Day (68) and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju (67) all were at 13 under and tied for sixth.
It was a disappointing result from Michael Thorbjornsen, who was in position prior to the round to rise into a high enough spot to qualify for next month’s Masters.
Thorbjornsen, needing to move from No. 56 in the world rankings to the top 50, was seeking to tie for fifth or better. Instead, he had a double bogey on No. 8 and three bogeys during a four-hole stretch on the back nine to finish with 72. He tied for 14th at 10 under.
Scott had a hole-in-one on the 11th hole. It was his third ace on the PGA Tour, but first in 14 years. He used an 8-iron.
“It was actually hard to see the flag mixed in with the people and the crowd, but we heard it go in,” said Scott, who posted 71 to end at 8 under for the tournament.
Champions
A day after he walked off the golf course flexing following an albatross that gave him the lead, Stewart Cink played another stellar round on Sunday to close out a victory at the Hoag Classic at Newport Beach (Calif.) Country Club.
In carding a 5-under-par 66, Cink finished at 19-under 194 for the event, four strokes clear of the rest of the field, for his second win of the season.
“I feel like I’m playing better and have more control over my ball than I’ve ever had ever,” Cink said. “When I was even in the top 10 in the world rankings for a long time, I didn’t ever drive it like I’ve driven it the last six, seven months.”
To wit, Cink is off to an impressive start in 2026, following up his win at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai with a second-place finish at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational earlier this month.
A week ago, Cink finished in a tie for sixth at the Cologuard Classic, and now he’s a winner again, for the sixth time on the Champions Tour.
“It’s way more than just confidence,” Cink said. “I’ve worked my tail off to try to get there and learned about what my swing does, my body, the dynamics, the psychology, the equipment, everything. I’ve left no stone unturned.”
The 52-year-old eased into his day with a consistent front nine, going bogey- free while pocketing a pair of birdies.
After another par on the 10th, Cink’s day got a little more interesting over the next five holes. Cink went birdie, bogey, par, birdie, birdie to ultimately create more space on his competition.
“I was very aware of where I stood,” Cink said. “But I didn’t have to change anything because I got enough of a lead where I just stuck to the game plan that we had. I didn’t change anything on 17, anything on 18, 15. I executed some of the best of my life really on those holes.”
He finished his day with a birdie on No. 18, where he provided the fireworks on Saturday.
“That was an awesome moment to finish it, finish the round,” he said. “I played great that round and then boom, to do that right there, that was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever been a part of in golf.”
Zach Johnson shot a 6-under 65 to finish in a tie for second at 15 under with South Africa’s Ernie Els (67).
“I think Stewart was just a bit too far away,” Els said. “But I had a really good week.”
Rounding out the top five were three golfers who tied for fourth at 14 under: Charlie Wi (66), Brian Gay (67) and Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson (69).
Reigning champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain landed in a tie for 10th at 12 under after shooting a 67. Day 1 leader Paul Goydos shot a 69 to finish at 8 under, tied for 24th.