Gary Woodland ties for best round of the day on final day of The Masters
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- Gary Woodland closed The Masters with a 6-under-par 66, his best Augusta single round.
- Woodland rocketed from a tie for 51st to 33rd on the final leaderboard.
- Woodland requested extra security at The Masters to help manage PTSD symptoms.
Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland, who entered Sunday’s final round of The Masters out of contention in a tie for 51st place, closed with a 6-under-par 66 — his personal-best 18-hole score in 13 career starts at Augusta National, site of the prestigious PGA Tour major event.
Woodland, 41, in fact tied Tyrrell Hatton and Keegan Bradley for the best 18-hole score of the final day on the tradition-rich Georgia course.
Woodland — he fired a 1-under-par 71 in the opening round Thursday, 3-over-par 75 on Friday and 4-over 76 on Saturday — rocketed from 51st to 33rd on the final leaderboard. His even-par total of 288 over 72 holes was worth prize money of $121,500.
“Today was peaceful,” Woodland told the Palm Beach Post after his remarkable final round.
Continuing his comeback from brain surgery in September 2023, Woodland experienced no problems with PTSD, a frightening condition that has tormented him off and on the past several months.
“The big deal is every day is a day that we can learn,” Woodland told The Palm Beach Post. “So this was a tough week just for how close the patrons are to me (physically on the course). But we can learn a lot from that. My caddie was getting behind me more. I was getting the bag behind me. Security was amazing, the whole staff. It’s just a lot of things I can learn.”
Woodland, who won the Houston Open (March 26-29), was pleased to make the cut for the third time at a PGA Tour major championship since his brain surgery.
“We can go back and talk with the doctors and figure some more things out. This was a tough week but a good week, and I’ll learn a lot from this week,” he said.
In an attempt to manage PTSD at The Masters, Woodland requested extra security.
“There were some times where you had to take a couple extra looks at security and slow down a little bit, slow my heart rate down and slow the thoughts down,” Woodland said. “It was a tough week for me just for a lot of things, but it was nice to be out there early and kind of see the results that I knew my game has been showing.”
His 66 was 3 shots off the course record 63. He had seven birdies before bogeying No. 17. Still he’ll take the 66 after firing a 76 in the third round, his worst round of the still-young golf season.
“I was tired the first couple days for sure,” said Woodland. He and family members participated in Wednesday’s par-3 event. “There was a lot going on. But today was just peaceful. I slowed down. There was a good text from my coach (Randy Smith) last night: ‘Don’t let the frustration set in, because you played beautifully Thursday as well and have been playing nice. Don’t let the last couple days throw those days out.’ I did that today, and it was nice.”
Woodland competed at KU from 2004 to 2007.
Woodland — his victory in Houston has made him eligible for all tour events this season including four majors — plans on competing at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head this week. He then will rest a week before participating in three consecutive tourneys, including the PGA Championship outside of Philadelphia.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Gary Woodland ties for best round of the day on final day of The Masters."
