Gary Woodland is fighting old swing habits as he returns from a four-week layoff. (Getty Images)
Gary Woodland spent four rigorous months learning new swing patterns under Butch Harmon. Then came four weeks of rest after his left wrist flared up at the Masters.
Thursday’s opening round of The Players Championship brought the Lake Nona pro back to competition for the first time since Augusta – and left Woodland utterly frustrated.
“I feel like I’m back at Step One,” he said after a 5-over-par 77 left him staring at what could be his first missed cut in a full year.
Woodland’s round included a double bogey and triple bogey in his first five holes before he started to settle in.
“It’s probably the most frustrated I’ve ever been on the golf course,” he said. “I feel like I’m playing OK half the time, and the rest of the time I feel like I’m lost. It’s not a good sign.”
Woodland began working with Harmon in January, trying to turn one of the most powerful swings on the PGA Tour into one that mixes consistency with power. Though he has yet to notch a top-20 finish, he could see progress being made.
Then came the injury on Masters Saturday, when a shot at No.8 caused a cyst to rupture. He spent the rest of the round with an ice bag on his wrist between shots, and took himself out of Sunday consideration.
“[The cyst] was probably the best case, because now it’s healed,” Woodland said. “The problem is, it sucked at the time.”
Now the dismay comes from Woodland’s game. He was cleared to hit balls again two Mondays ago, and nearly made last week’s Wells Fargo Championship his comeback event. But he didn’t feel the wrist was ready and pushed his return back another week.
The only problem is that TPC Sawgrass isn’t exactly forgiving when it comes to misplayed shots. He pushed his tee shot at No.13 to a tough spot to make a run at the flagstick. One hole later, he overshot the green and watched it settle in a bush.
“My distances were horrendous,” Woodland said. “If you miss greens here, you’re going to have your hands full.”
(Sound familiar?)
All Woodland can do right now is try to tweak it on the range when he works with Harmon before Friday’s second round.
“I felt like I was getting it down,” Woodland said. “I still don’t feel comfortable with it right now, so I’ve got a lot of work to do to get back at it.”
