Gary Woodland reunites with longtime swing coach Randy Smith
TROON, Scotland (AP) — Gary Woodland didn’t get the result he wanted at the Scottish Open. It was hard to tell from the wide smile on his face for a couple of important reasons.
One was his head. The former U.S. Open champion is trying to work his way back from brain surgery last September and it’s been a rough recovery with medication. He had a scan last week that was good, his dose was lowered and he played without pain medication for his head for the first time since he returned in January.
“That’s extremely exciting,” Woodland said. “It’s probably why I have a little more energy, a little more pep in my step. I haven’t felt this way in a long time.”
The other reason for feeling so upbeat was reuniting with Randy Smith.
Smith, the Hall of Fame coach best known now for taking on a young kid in Dallas named Scottie Scheffler, was Woodland’s coach all through college and onto the PGA Tour. Woodland referred to him as a second father.
But then he left Hambric Sports manager Blake Smith for Excel Sports in 2012. Blake Smith, who represents Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, is the son of Randy Smith. The player cut lose the manager, and his coach cut lose the player. It was a family thing.
Woodland felt awful about his game after the Zurich Classic and headed down to the Turks and Caicos with his wife, Gabby, to get away. That’s where they were married.
She doesn’t usually get involved with his golf. She did this time.
“She probably wouldn’t like me saying this, but we got on the plane and she said, ‘I need to to talk to you.’ I’m like, ‘Oh God, what did I do now?’” Woodland said. “She said: ‘Enough is enough. You’ve been struggling for four years. Call Randy.'”
It wasn’t easy. That was as much a family split as a coaching split. Woodland said what followed were “13 years of small talk” when they saw each other.
“I didn’t know how it was going to go. I think I was dang near in tears when I finally talked to Randy, just getting past that hurdle,” Woodland said. “I think time heals everything. I apologized for the way things happened. I was a different person than I am now. I’m a little more mature. I understand decisions have consequences. I think I made the amends.”
Smith is the no-nonsense variety, and Woodland missed the tough talk. Mostly, he said he missed Smith’s personal relationship and the plain talk about his swing and what kind of work was required on Woodland’s end.
For two rounds at The Renaissance Club, Woodland said it was the best he felt over the ball in a long time. Woodland doesn’t need much time with Smith. But he does believe he needed him.
“The voice back in my head was really good for me, especially the way my head is,” Woodland said with a smile. I can’t do too much thinking. He’s made it easy for me my whole life. It’s nice to get that back.”
Tiger and the Ryder Cup
It took Tiger Woods time to reach the conclusion that he really doesn’t have a lot of time.
Woods explained Tuesday at the British Open how he came to turn down an offer to be the Ryder Cup captain for the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black. He mentioned his position as vice chairman of the PGA Tour Enterprises board that is negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, along with his spot on the PGA Tour policy board.
He also brought up TGL, the indoor golf league on ESPN that starts next year and is run by his TMRW Sports company.
“I’m on so many different subcommittees that it just takes so much time in the day, and I’m always on calls,” Woods said. “There’s only so many hours in the day.”
The job was awarded to Keegan Bradley for what Woods described as a “turnover year” with captains and assistants, meaning a lot of new faces.
He will miss the Olympics but has his PGA Tour card
Cristobal del Solar of Chile was thinking about his immediate future, not so much immediate gratification, when he chose to withdraw his spot in the Olympics three weeks ago. He didn’t want the preparation for the Paris Games to take away too much time on the Korn Ferry Tour as he tries to get a PGA Tour card.
So he gave up his spot, and Mito Pereira will be in France with Joaquin Niemann.
The timing wasn’t the best, but it will do. Del Solar, best known for a 57 he shot on the Korn Ferry Tour in Colombia earlier this year, had two eagles in the final round Sunday for a 66 to win The Ascendant.
The victory guarantees he will be among the top 30 from the Korn Ferry Tour points list who will be on the PGA Tour next year.
“I called my wife when I was signing the scorecard. She was bawling,” del Solar said. “I’m just happy that all the work that I’ve put in is paying off. I want to be on the PGA Tour. I want to stay on the PGA Tour. I want to be one of the best players in the world. So this is just a start.”
It’s too late for the Olympics. Names were submitted on June 28 and confirmed a week ago. Then again, the Los Angeles Games at Riviera are four years off.
PGA Tour in the fall
The PGA Tour waited until the Monday evening before the British Open to release its fall schedule, with no real surprise except for the addition of a tournament in Utah (previously announced) and no title sponsor for what now is the Napa Valley Golf Championship.
The fall schedule is mainly a chance for players to finish in the top 125 to secure a full PGA Tour card for 2025 and for the leading 10 players (outside the top 50) to get into two signature events with $20 million purses.
The Napa Valley Golf Championship is Sept. 12-15 — two week after the Tour Championship. There’s another week off before the Presidents Cup, and then the schedule goes from Mississippi, Utah and Las Vegas, and then continues west — way west — to Japan for the Zozo Championship.
After another week off, the fall concludes with Mexico, Bermuda and Sea Island on Nov. 21-24.
Divots
Xander Schauffele was two shots below the cut line with 11 holes to play in the Scottish Open when he made enough birdies to get to the weekend. He tied for 15th. More importantly, he made the cut for the 51st time in a row. … The LPGA Tour goes from a major in France to a tournament near Toledo, Ohio. No one from the top 10 in the women’s world ranking is in the field this week. … Ernie Els makes his fifth start at Royal Troon this week in the British Open. He played his first Open at Troon as a 19-year-old amateur in 1989. … All nine British Opens at Royal Troon had a runner-up who finished their career with their name on the claret jug.
Stat of the week
Americans make up 32% of the field at the British Open. They make up 52% of the field at the Masters and 55% of the field at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
Final word
“It’s cool to get people to see who I am now. I’m just going to keep entertaining and showcasing to the fans what this great game is all about.” — U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
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