Gary Lynn Woodland (born May 21, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won one major championship, the 2019 U.S. Open.
Originally a collegiate basketball player at Washburn University, Woodland transferred to the University of Kansas to play golf and had a successful amateur career. He turned professional in 2007 and won his first tournament on the PGA Tour in 2011. Following medical problems including surgery on a brain tumor, Woodland won his fifth PGA Tour title at the Houston Open in 2026, which was his first professional victory since the 2019 U.S. Open.
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Early life and amateur career
Woodland was born in Topeka, Kansas, on May 21, 1984, the son of Dan and Linda Woodland. He attended Shawnee Heights High School in the suburb of Tecumseh, where he was a four-year letterman in both basketball and golf. As a senior, Woodland became the first all-state basketball selection in Shawnee Heights history. He averaged 18 points per game for the season, including 26 points in the state title match.
After high school, Woodland attended Washburn University in Topeka on a basketball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to attend the University of Kansas in Lawrence on a golf scholarship. He was a backup shooting guard during his freshman season and averaged six points per game. Regarding his decision to switch basketball for golf, Woodland recalled in 2019: "Offensively, I was fine. I could get around, I could do stuff, but defensively I wasn't quick enough. I couldn't keep up. That was the biggest thing. And that was at the Division II level. You talk about Division I level. Our first game was at KU and I learned quickly I needed to find something else."
Woodland won four individual collegiate tournaments during his time with the Kansas Jayhawks: the 2005 Cleveland State Invitational, 2006 Kansas Invitational, 2007 All-American Golf Classic and 2007 Louisiana Classic. He also won the 2005 Kansas Amateur Championship. He graduated with a degree in sociology in 2007 and subsequently started his career as a professional golfer.
Professional career
After turning professional, Woodland played in a handful of tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and 2008. At the end of the 2008 season, he entered the Qualifying school for the PGA Tour, and finished in a tie for 11th, which was good enough to earn him a full card to play on the PGA Tour in 2009. However, he struggled for form in his debut season, making just eight cuts in 18 appearances before a shoulder injury cut his golfing year short in July.
In 2010, Woodland divided his time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. He continued to struggle for his best form but did not record a single top ten finish on either tour. He did display enough consistency to finish 92nd in the Nationwide Tour money list. Once again, he entered the season-ending qualifying school, and again he finished T-11, to secure a return to full PGA Tour status.
Woodland's second tournament of 2011 was the Bob Hope Classic, where he and Jhonattan Vegas finished tied for first place at 27-under-par; Vegas edged out Woodland in a playoff for the title. This was his first top-10 finish on either of the two main tours.
In March 2011, Woodland won his first PGA Tour title at the Transitions Championship by one stroke when fellow American Webb Simpson missed a par putt on the final hole. Just a few moments earlier Woodland had scrambled a fantastic par from the same position as Simpson on the last, after hitting his second shot over the back of the green. This win secured Woodland a place at the 2011 Masters Tournament and also elevated him to what was then a career high 53rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. He later earned an invitation into the U.S. Open after moving into the Top 50. He left the tournament with an OWGR ranking of 39th. In November 2011, he won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup with Matt Kuchar. He finished 2011 ranked 17th on the PGA Tour money list and 51st in the OWGR. He had ended 2009 ranked 962 and 2010 591.
Woodland reached the final of the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play, where he lost to Rory McIlroy, and moved to a career-best 32nd in the OWGR.
In February 2018, Woodland won his third PGA Tour event, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a hole-by-hole playoff over Chez Reavie. After finishing tied at 18 under, Woodland won with a par on the first extra hole to end a five-year drought on tour. Woodland moved up to fifth in the season's FedEx Cup standings.
Personal life
Woodland married Gabby Granado in 2016. They had their first child, a son named Jaxson, in 2017. Jaxson was born ten weeks premature; he was originally a twin, but his sibling died in utero. The couple had identical twin daughters in 2019.
In August 2023, Woodland announced that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had experienced symptoms since April 2023, such as loss of appetite, regular feelings of fear, and partial seizures. An MRI in May discovered the tumor. Woodland was prescribed anti-seizure medication and continued to play on tour, making six cuts in his seven starts following the MRI. The medication had side effects including memory loss so the decision was made to undergo brain surgery, which took place on September 18, 2023. He wrote letters to his wife and children in case he did not survive the operation, but it was successful and he returned to play on the PGA Tour four months later.
In February 2025, Woodland was awarded the PGA Tour Courage Award in recognition of his recovery from surgery. The surgery did not fully remove his brain tumor and the residual tumor sits near his amygdala, which controls emotions, in particular fear and anxiety. In March 2026, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to episodes of anxiety and hypervigilance since the surgery. Woodland stated that, during the second round of the 2026 Houston Open, "I battled the last 10 holes thinking people were trying to kill me. ... People ask me, 'How was the win?' The one thing I know is having this brain tumor and having PTSD, it doesn't matter if I win or lose. It doesn't care."
Amateur wins
2005 Cleveland State Invitational, Kansas Amateur
2006 Kansas Invitational
2007 All-American Golf Classic, Louisiana Classics, Kansas Amateur
Professional wins (7)
PGA Tour wins (5)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
Adams Pro Tour wins (1)
2008 Southwest Kansas Pro-Am
Major championships
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2019 PGA – 2019 U.S. Open)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order before 2015.
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
World Cup: 2011 (winners)
Presidents Cup: 2019 (winners)