Gary Woodland’s first PGA Tour victory since undergoing brain surgery came with a bonus: a spot in next month’s Masters.
Woodland, who had a lesion removed from his brain in September 2023 and earlier this month revealed that he was battling PTSD, beat Nicolai Hojgaard by five shots Sunday at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, his fifth career Tour win and first since the 2019 U.S. Open.
“Obviously your goal out here is to play in major championships,” Woodland said. “My exemption ran out a year ago. I haven’t been in the other three majors from an exempt standpoint outside the U.S. Open from my win. Playing my way back in, I know this gets me in the Masters, I know it gets me in the PGA. I’m looking forward to that, I can tell you that.”
Woodland has teed it up in a dozen previous Masters, though he owns just one top-20 (T-14 in 2023) and did not qualify last year.
Hojgaard didn’t come away from Memorial Park empty-handed, either. He will play a third straight Masters as one of four players who clinched Masters invitations by solidifying their positions inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Hojgaard, who tied for 14th in his Augusta National debut in 2024, entered the week at No. 47 in the world.
“I was happy with the way I was fighting out there,” Hojgaard said. “There’s some good stuff to build on going forward.”
Daniel Berger, Jake Knapp and Matt McCarty also qualified for the Masters via the OWGR on Sunday evening.
Michael Thorbjornsen was No. 56 in the world to start the week and likely needing a top-6 finish to move into the top 50. But Thorbjornsen closed in 2-over 72 to drop from T-3 to T-14, therefore missing out on his Masters debut.
The current projected Masters field now sits at 93 players, though that number includes past champion Tiger Woods. The winner of next week’s Valero Texas Open, if not already qualified, would earn the final invitation.