Gary Woodland needed a boost from the Harbour Town crowd during Thursday’s opening round after an energy-draining 72 holes at Augusta National, and got just that from the Hilton Head faithful.
Woodland, who is battling PTSD following September 2023 brain surgery to remove a lesion, sits inside the top 5 at the RBC Heritage after posting a 6-under, bogey-free 65 after his first 18 holes in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
“I’ve needed that energy, last week took a lot out of me,” admitted Woodland, who finished T-33 at the Masters thanks to the lowest-scoring final round of 66. “I had a lot of love and support here today, and I needed every ounce of it. I’m very thankful.”
Being mistake-free would cause any player’s confidence to soar but that’s not exactly driving the 41-year-old Woodland’s positivity at the RBC Heritage.
Rather, what’s freed him during this recent stretch of strong play is not having to fight what he refers to as “the golf game.”
“I’m fighting my head but very confident where the game is,” said Woodland, who won at the Houston Open to qualify for Augusta. “I’m comfortable hitting multiple shots, again, which is nice. I feel very comfortable with the putter, which makes everything a little bit easier.
“I think my game is as complete as it’s ever been.”
Navigating is easier when the destination is known, and while Woodland has zero idea where he may end up on this week’s leaderboard — he is learning how to plot through courses where hundreds upon hundreds of external factors could trigger an episode, like the one he suffered on Friday in Houston where he admitted to bawling his eyes out after he was set off by encroaching tournament spectators he thought were plotting to physically harm him.
“Last week was tough, one of the harder weeks I’ve probably had,” Woodland said of playing in front 40,000 people at Augusta. “Patrons are very close there on a lot of those tee boxes.
“Out here [in Harbour Town], it’s different for me. On a lot of the tee boxes we have signage at the back,” he added. “I have somewhere I can stand where at least I feel pretty safe. Security last week was amazing, did everything they can to help me feel safe. ... I’m in a tough spot, but we’ll keep learning and we’ll keep getting better.”
Woodland is set to tee off 1:20 p.m. Friday with Sepp Straka. He sits two shots behind clubhouse leader Ludvig Åberg in the 82-player, no-cut signature event.