Gary Woodland salvages rough day on Tour

By Garrett Johnston/Special To The Journal-World     May 13, 2014

Lynne Sladky
Gary Woodland hits out of a bunker on the fifth hole during the second round of The Players championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Friday, May 9, 2014, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

? Gary Woodland’s weekend at The Players Championship didn’t end like he’d hoped, but the former Kansas University golfer kept battling after a rough start Sunday.

Woodland began the final round at TPC Sawgrass tied for fifth place, only four shots behind co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Martin Kaymer. By the end of the day, Woodland had fallen to a tie for 11th, his even-par 72 not quite telling the story.

A “bad break” on the second hole started Woodland’s slide. Looking to take advantage of his distance on the par-5, Woodland instead bogeyed after his 3-wood tee shot hooked left and got caught in a tree.

Woodland momentarily righted the ship with a birdie on the third hole before carding a bogey on the fourth. Another 3-wood lash on the seventh hole — dropped into one of Sawgrass’ many lakes en route to double-bogey — and Woodland was well out of the hunt at 3-over-par.

It was then that Woodland’s veteran caddie, Tony Navarro, pointed out a difference in the 29-year-old’s setup for tee shots.

“My caddie saw something. I got a little closer to the ball the rest of the day,” Woodland said. “I was just a little too far away from it (on 2 and 7). Maybe I was a little too excited, so I scooted in closer, and I actually hit it pretty good.”

Woodland made another bounce-back birdie on the eighth and ended his front nine at 2-over-par 38.

“All in all, I played solid outside of that (start),” Woodland said. “I fought and I hung in there.”

There were times Sunday when Woodland vocalized that fighting spirit — yelling “Right! Go right!” at his shot off the fourth tee — although, for the most part, he strives to contain his emotions on the golf course.

“In basketball I was a very emotional person and I’d let it out,” Woodland said of his days playing college basketball at Washburn University before taking up golf at KU. “I try to keep it bottled in out here. I try to keep my emotions in check. If I get too fired up, I might hit the ball 400 yards.”

He didn’t need that kind of distance Sunday on the delicate par-3 17th. Woodland hit his best shot of the day to the course’s signature island green, using a pitching wedge to land the ball just left of the pin and settle it two feet away.

Even then, things weren’t going to be easy.

Lightning and rain prompted the PGA Tour to sound a weather delay that lasted just over an hour and a half. Once the storm passed through, Woodland and the other 13 players left on the course were able to get back and finish their rounds.

“I wasn’t concerned about (the delay), especially living right down the road in Orlando,” Woodland said. “I knew that even if we only had twenty minutes I was going to finish.”

Woodland made the birdie putt on 17 and ended with par on the difficult 18th.

Woodland said he was “anxious” with his game on Sunday and looks forward to finding more consistency off the tee this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, which begins Thursday in Irving, Texas.

“I’m hitting my irons pretty good; I’ve just got to get the ball back in the fairway (off the tee), which is the key for me every week,” Woodland said. “If I get the ball in the fairway I’m pretty good.

“Hopefully I can put four good rounds together (this) week and go have a big week.”

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