Gary Woodland, of the United States, lines up his putt on the 11th hole during the second round of the Mexico Open at Vidanta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Friday, April 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Starting the day in a second-place tie at the Scottish Open on Saturday, former Kansas standout Gary Woodland opened the day with a birdie at the first hole to move him within two shots of the lead.
He did not birdie again until the 16th hole, stacking 10 pars and four bogeys on the 14 holes in between during another up-and-down round in the final tune up for next week’s British Open.
After a birdie at the par-5 16th hole, Woodland recorded a two to birdie the 17th hole, as well. That stretch of good fortune ended with a bogey on 18 to move him to 2-over for the day and 2-under for the tournament, putting him in a tie for ninth place heading into the final round.
Woodland opened the event with a 6-under 64 on Thursday, but shot 2-over 72s on both Friday and Saturday.
The Topeka native and 2019 U.S. Open champion was in the final group on Saturday, playing with leader Cameron Tringale, who shot a 4-over 74 to fall into a tie for sixth at 3-under for the event.
Woodland will enter Round 4 five strokes behind leader Xander Schauffele, who shot a 65 on Friday and followed it up with a 66 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round.
A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.
