Jayhawk fans celebrate super Sunday for Gary Woodland
By Stan Unruh
Gary Woodland’s great start to the 2018 PGA season continued Sunday. The former University of Kansas golfer won the Phoenix Open in a playoff and Jayhawks everywhere celebrated.
Kansas Jayhawk fans waiting for Sunday’s Super Bowl started celebrating early Sunday afternoon. Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland was dominating the CBS coverage of the Phoenix Open. Woodland started Sunday’s final round just 3 back of Rickie Fowler. After 5 birdies on the front 9, Woodland was making a lot of noise and the cameras started to pay attention.
A week ago, at Torrey Pines, Woodland was also in the hunt for victory. He started that final round 3 back of the leaders too. He struggled to a 74 but earned a top-10 finish. Jayhawk fans knew he had the game necessary to win following rounds in Phoenix of 67, 68 and 67. The question was, could Woodland do what he had not done in 5 tour season?
After 4 top 10 finishes in 2017, Woodland just needed to put four great rounds together on the same weekend. As he started his move up the leader board Sunday, Jayhawk fans from around the country started to notice. Then he moved into the lead on the back nine.
Hear from @GaryWoodland after his playoff victory @WMPhoenixOpen. 🏆 https://t.co/VCLSZ43WL3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 4, 2018
As a matter of fact, there was some concern he might not get the job done after a bogey at the par 4 no. 14. He followed that miscue with three straight birdies for a final round 64. Then he survived the one hole playoff with Chez Reavie.
When Jayhawk fans were worried, Woodland hit a tremendous shot from the fairway bunker on the playoff hole. He chipped to about 2 feet and made a putt worth $496,000. That is the difference between Woodland’s $1,242,00 and second place money.
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In earning his third PGA tour win, Woodland held off some big names. Phil Mickelson, Fowler, Matt Kuchar and others didn’t spoil Woodland’s Super Sunday. This finish should boost Woodland’s confidence. He has made a lot of money the past couple of years on the tour. Now he is ready to also bring home a lot of hardware.