Gary Woodland of the United States reacts after a shot on the 16th tee during the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 11, 2024 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Gary Woodland returned this week to the PGA Tour after having brain surgery in September. That alone made Woodland the story of the week.
“There was a time where I didn’t know if this was going to be possible,” he said.
He shot a pair of 71s to miss the cut but that was besides the point.
Woodland hit just 12 of 28 fairways (T-122) and only got up and down around the green on 4 of 10 attempts (T-129). He said he would go home and try to iron out a few wrinkles in his game and be back for the Farmers Insurance Open in two weeks.
“Focus was amazing. Best focus I’ve had in a year. Best energy I’ve in had in a year on a golf course,” he said. “Obviously you never want to miss the cut, never want to be out of contention, but it was bigger for me this week than golf.
“Golf game was rusty. Saw a lot of good things, but I was rusty scoring-wise.”
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