Gary Woodland’s Comeback Journey Comes Full Circle at the WM Phoenix Open
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - When Scottie Scheffler was asked to draft a basketball starting five using only PGA Tour players, he didn’t hesitate. “You’ve gotta start with Gary Woodland,” he said, nodding to the former Kansas Jayhawk and one-time college basketball player at Washburn. For Scheffler, the pick was a no-brainer - and Woodland, ever the competitor, returned the compliment by saying Scheffler would make his own starting five.
But this week at TPC Scottsdale, the game Woodland’s most focused on isn’t being played on hardwood. It’s golf - and for the 41-year-old, this tournament carries more than just professional stakes. It’s personal.
A Course Full of Memories
TPC Scottsdale has been good to Woodland. Really good.
Back in 2018, he walked away with the title at the WM Phoenix Open after a playoff win over Chez Reavie, carding an 18-under finish. That moment was a career highlight - at least until he won the 2019 U.S.
Open at Pebble Beach.
Since then? The road’s been anything but smooth.
In September 2023, Woodland underwent brain surgery after doctors discovered a tumor. The recovery was long and draining. In 2024, he managed to return to competition, but the results were inconsistent - just 15 cuts made in 26 starts, and only three top-25 finishes.
Still, he kept grinding. And in 2025, the signs of progress started to show.
Woodland made 16 of 22 cuts and posted eight top-25 finishes. He even came close to winning again, finishing runner-up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open in March.
“This might be the best second place has ever felt,” he wrote on Instagram afterward - a telling statement from a guy who’s battled more than just bogeys the last few years.
“It’s been a journey,” Woodland said Wednesday at the Phoenix Open Pro-Am. “I understand that I’m recovering. Sometimes I get excited because I feel a lot better than I do other days.”
The ups and downs are still there. But his doctors are happy with his progress, and Woodland’s mindset is clear: keep healing, keep playing, and keep pushing forward.
The Power of Positivity - and Friendship
For Woodland, this week isn’t just about chasing birdies. It’s about reconnecting with the people and places that have lifted him up along the way. And few relationships mean more to him than the one he shares with Amy Bockerstette.
Bockerstette made history as the first person with Down syndrome to receive an athletic scholarship to attend college and compete in a national collegiate championship. But for golf fans, she’s best known for her unforgettable moment alongside Woodland at the 2019 Phoenix Open. On the raucous par-3 16th - the loudest hole in golf - she hit her tee shot into a bunker, calmly got up and down, and parred the hole to thunderous applause.
That moment went viral, but the friendship that followed is what’s endured. On Tuesday, Bockerstette posted a photo from this year’s practice round with Woodland, captioned: “Sweet 7 Years, Best Friend Ever!”
When Woodland won the U.S. Open later that year, one of his first calls was to Bockerstette.
He told her he’d used her positive energy to get through the final round. This week, she was back walking the front nine with him during the Pro-Am.
“It’s always special to come here and see her,” Woodland said. “She’s so positive, it’s nice to rub off on that energy.”
A Meaningful Round with a Soccer Legend
Woodland’s Pro-Am partner on Wednesday was none other than Carli Lloyd - U.S. Women’s National Team legend and two-time World Cup champion. Fittingly, it was also National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and for Woodland, a father of two daughters, the timing couldn’t have been better.
“I wish they were here today,” he said of his girls. “Just to meet (Lloyd) and just show them that anything’s possible. She’s one of the best soccer players of all time.”
Lloyd, by the way, held her own on the course. Woodland praised her swing, but the real takeaway was the significance of the moment - a celebration of resilience, achievement, and inspiration, all wrapped into one round of golf.
Ready to Compete Again
Woodland missed the cut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, but he’s feeling optimistic heading into this weekend. And why not? He’s back at a course where he’s won before, surrounded by familiar faces, and - most importantly - he’s feeling good about where his game is trending.
“There’s no doubt,” he said. “I feel like my game’s in a good spot.
I just haven’t put it all together. It’s nice to come to a place to where I’ve done that and hopefully feed off that this week.”
One of the biggest lessons Woodland’s learned during his recovery might be the most valuable of all.
“Just take it easy on myself,” he said. “I’m pretty hard on myself. Realize that I am healing - realizing that bad days happen, not just to me - and realize that and go out and have a good week.”
Still a Jayhawk at Heart
And while Woodland’s focused on his own comeback, he’s still keeping an eye on his alma mater. As a proud Kansas Jayhawk, he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen from Bill Self’s squad this season.
“I’m excited for them,” Woodland said. “They’re starting to click at the right time. It’s nice when (Darryn) Peterson’s healthy, but the guys have rallied around each other.”
Peterson’s late-game heroics against Texas Tech earlier this week didn’t go unnoticed.
“When he comes back and plays like he did the other night,” Woodland said, “big things are ahead.”
So maybe it’s fitting that Woodland’s week begins here - in the desert, on a course he’s conquered before, with old friends by his side and new goals in sight. He’s been through a lot. But if there’s one thing we know about Gary Woodland, it’s this: don’t count him out.