Gary Woodland signed for a bogey-free 8-under 64 to start the Sanderson Farms Championship on a high note.
It has been a little over a year since Woodland had brain surgery last September to remove a benign lesion. He returned to the PGA Tour in early January 2024 at the Sony Open, but it has taken a while for him to put it all together.
Woodland has 22 starts in the year, with just one Top 25 finish. He only made 12 cuts on the season as well. Woodland missed the cut in the first FedEx Cup Fall event, the Procore Championship. Despite the challenging year, the 40-year-old finds the positives. Coming from what happened last year to where he is now puts things into perspective for him.
“I’ve been out here a long time. There’s a lot of ups and downs,” Woodland said. “When you’re coming from where I’ve been, and you’re starting to see signs, it’s been a little easier to stay positive.”
“It’s been nice to shoot some low rounds at home. A little frustrating out here, but it was nice today just to put it all together. I’ve had days where I’ve hit it well or I’ve putted it well, I just haven’t done it together, and it was nice to see that today.”
However, it seems like the breakthrough finally happened for him in Mississippi.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion took time to work on his game with Randy Smith in Dallas. Smith helped Woodland break down things to get back to the basics.
“Everything is just coming together. I’ve seen stuff at home,” he explained. “ I just haven’t seen it out here in a long time, so it was nice. I knew it was coming. It’s hard to stay patient out here sometimes, but fortunately, I’ve done that, and it’s nice to see it all payoff.”
Woodland sits four shots off the leader David Skinns, who shot a 12-under 60 to start the tournament. He has put himself into contention and will look to keep the momentum going. Woodland, Zach Johnson and K.H. Lee tee off at 8:38 a.m. ET for Round 2.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.