Texas Children’s Houston Open final round leaderboard
-twenty one G Woodland (USA); -16 N Hojgaard (The); -15 J Kiefer (USA), MW Lee (Australia). -14 S. Stevens (USA); -13 S Yelamaraju (Canada), J Day (Australia), J Knapp (USA), C Gotterup (USA)
advertisement
Others selected: -7 S Rowley (Ire), H Hall (Eng); -6 P Waring (English); -5 J. Smith (English); -4 J. Parry (English); -3 M. Wallace (English); -2 D. Willett (English)
complete leaderboard
Gary Woodland broke down in tears after winning the Houston Open, clinching his first championship in seven years.
Woodland underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in September 2023 and revealed earlier this month that she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since being diagnosed about a year ago.
The American, who had not won a tournament since the 2019 U.S. Open, defeated Denmark’s Nikolaj Hojgaard by five strokes to win the PGA Tour tournament in Texas.
advertisement
As he holed his final putt, Woodland, 41, spread his arms wide, looked up at the sky, and cried as he hugged his wife, Gabby.
“We play an individual sport, and today we weren’t alone,” Woodland said.
“I have a lot of people behind me, including my team and my family. I want anyone who is struggling with something to look at me and not give up and keep fighting.”
Woodland finished at 21 under after an impressive final round of 67 at the par-70 Memorial Park Golf Course.
“Another day has passed. I have to continue to heal and I’m going to keep fighting, but I’m proud of who I am today,” he added.
advertisement
“Thank you to my family. I wouldn’t have been anywhere without them, but I couldn’t have done this without Gabby.”
“It was hard for me, but it was even harder for her. I love her to death.”
Woodland wept as he hugged his wife Gabby after clinching victory (Getty Images)
Hodgegard, looking for his first PGA Tour win, shot an impressive 8-under 62 on Friday and a 7-under 63 on Saturday before Woodland took the lead by one stroke overnight.
But the American showed remarkable composure and control with a superb front nine that included four birdies to emerge into a lead he would never relinquish.
Huygaard also had two birdies in his first 10 holes, but had two bogeys and a double bogey to boost Woodland’s chances.
advertisement
The Dane made a birdie on the 14th hole, despite Woodland’s bogey card, to cut the gap to five shots, and added another birdie on the 16th hole to make it four shots.
But Woodland matched him with a par on the 17th and made par at the end, but Huygaard dropped another shot.
Woodland received a warm welcome from the crowd on the straight, which turned into enthusiastic applause and chants of “Gary, Gary” when he sank the winning putt.
This is Woodland’s fifth PGA Tour win and will likely prepare him for his first major of the season at next month’s Masters.
Asked about his chances at Augusta, he stressed that he still has some personal and mental issues to work on, but added, “My game is better than it’s ever been.”
advertisement
American Johnny Keefer and Australia’s Min Woo Lee tied for third place at 15 under par, one stroke behind Hodggard.
Reflecting on his accomplishments, Mr Woodland said he was “most proud” of “not giving up” on his career during the difficult past few years.
He added: “I didn’t think this was possible a few years ago, so I tried to slow down and embrace things.”
