Gary Woodland had a rough Saturday night and a long day on Sunday that left him on the wrong side of the FedEx Cup bubble.
But he’s looking at it all in an optimistic light.
“A lot of positives from this season,” Woodland said. “It stinks not to move on. But I’m excited for some rest. I need it. Rest up, spend time with the family, get a little healthier and then get ready for the Ryder Cup.”
Heading into this week’s Wyndham Championship, Woodland was 75th in the FedEx Cup standings, five slots shy of the top-70 postseason cutoff. He was still in the running for the playoffs. But he also acknowledged his ongoing struggle to recover physically and mentally from the surgery he underwent to remove a brain tumor in 2023. It has been a learning process, Woodland said, figuring out how to calm his nervous system after the stimulation of tournament play. Woodland went so far as to say that he probably shouldn’t have played on the PGA Tour in 2024.
Woodland enjoyed a strong start to 2025, with three top-25 finishes. But his play has fallen off since. At Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., this week, Woodland opened with rounds of 67-64 to put himself in contention, but he flatlined with even-par rounds of 70 on Saturday and Sunday to finish T23. Woodland entered Sunday’s final round as the bubble boy, projected to finish at 70. But he late bogeys on Sunday doomed his playoff fate.
It was a good showing, but not good enough, as he finished at 72nd in the FedEx standings.
He’d given it his all, Woodland said. But he also conceded that the strain of competition had caught up to him.
“I ran out of gas. I did.” he said. “Credit to my caddie today, man. I’ll tell you, he was unbelievable. I told him before we started I was struggling. Had a rough night last night, rough morning this morning. He did everything for me today. He led me around. I was just trying to hit the shots. I wasn’t enough in the end but credit to him. He carried me today.”
Woodland’s season might be over, but his work isn’t done, as he’ll serve as assistant captain to Keegan Bradley at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
In that role, Woodland will surely have input on Bradley’s selection of captain’s picks. At the Wyndham, Woodland got a close look at one of the possible contenders, Cameron Young, who ran away with a six-shot win.
Was Young’s dominant performance a sign that he’d fit in well on Team USA?
“I mean, the way he drives the golf ball, his putting stats this year are really good as well,” Woodland said. “Cam’s got a lot of talent and anytime you can bring a lot of talent, it helps everybody. I’m happy for him. Like I said, I think it’s just the start for him.”
It is, in other words, too early for that kind of talk. But for Woodland, at least, it’s not too soon to start looking back.
“It was a good year in a lot of ways, but I have a long way to go in a lot of ways,” Woodland said. “The best parts of my game are in a really good spot and I’m happy with that.”
