Gary Woodland Victorious in Houston
Houston, TX – Gary Woodland (-21) won the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open and in doing so created one of the most feel-good stories of all time in the golf world. The 41-year-old Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2019 and has been known as one of the most universally-liked guys on Tour of this generation, underwent brain surgery in 2023 for a benign lesion which was severely impacting his psychological functioning.
Since his return, he has continued to struggle with PTSD symptoms which have led him to experience intense anxiety, fear, and discomfort on the golf course and elsewhere. He gave an incredibly vulnerable and brave interview to Golf Channel detailing his struggles two weeks ago and reported that while the struggles still exist, being open with his experiences took a weight off his shoulders. In his post-round interview on Sunday, he expressed hope that others struggling with mental health issues would take inspiration from his story.
The win certainly was inspiring. In the end, Woodland strolled to victory, beating Nicolai Hojgaard by five. After only leading by one going into the final round, anything was possible. But Woodland kept the hammer down, shooting a -3 67 while Hojgaard struggled to get out of second gear, treading water with a +1 71 and finishing in solo second.
Last year’s winner Min Woo Lee finished T3 one back at -15 alongside PGA Tour newcomer and last year’s KFT Player of the Year Johnny Keefer. Sam Stevens finished solo 5th one back of them at -14 and Jake Knapp, Chris Gotterup, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, and Jason Day finished one behind him in T6.
It was a relatively strong field and not all of the big names showed well. Rickie Fowler failed to make the cut, as did Will Zalatoris, Wyndham Clark, and Brooks Koepka. 2025 US Amateur champ Mason Howell was given a Tour start and also narrowly missed the cut, despite shooting a 66 on Friday.
Next week, the PGA Tour makes one final stop in Texas before the golf world sets its sights on Augusta National and the Masters Tournament. Brian Harman is the defending champ at the Valero Texas Open and will play against a field that includes the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama, and Jordan Spieth.
Gary Woodland What’s In The Bag
Driver: Cobra DS-Adapt MAX K 9 (Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 8 X)
3 Wood: PING G440 Max 15 (Accra Tour Z XTreme 4100 M5)
Utility: Wilson Staff Model Utility 18 (KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X)
Irons: Cobra King Tour 4, 5, Cobra King MB 6-P (KBS Tour C-Taper 130 X)
Wedges: Cobra King 48, Cobra SB 52, 56, Cleveland RTZ Tour Rack 60 (True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Onyx, True Temper Dynamic Gold S400)
Putter: Scotty Cameron GoLo Tour Prototype
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