It’s been nearly seven years since Gary Woodland’s last victory at the 2019 U.S. Open, but the 41-year-old has put himself in prime position heading into the weekend in Houston. Woodland holds a three-shot lead heading into Moving Day at the 2026 Houston Open after shooting a 7-under 63 on Friday at Memorial Park Golf Course to reach 13 under overall.
It’s a remarkable story considering everything Woodland has gone through over recent years. In 2023, Woodland underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor and recently revealed his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in the years since. Speaking about those challenges publicly seems to have lifted a significant weight off Woodland’s shoulders, which has allowed him to play his best golf in quite some time.
After a season-best T14 finish at the Valspar Championship last week, Woodland has been phenomenal in the first two rounds in Houston, carding a 64 and 63 to take the solo 36-hole lead. Memorial Park carries some positive vibes for Woodland, as he finished in a tie with Scottie Scheffler last year as runners-up to Min Woo Lee — Woodland’s best finish on the PGA Tour since 2019.
Now, he’s looking to do one better and capture his fifth career PGA Tour victory, and he has the two most important parts of his game firing on all cylinders. Woodland leads the field in strokes gained on approach and strokes gained putting, which is a combination that will always produce a lot of birdies.
Woodland closed his round with a flurry for the second straight day, birdieing his final three holes on Friday to get into the clubhouse with a significant advantage as the afternoon wave began their day. The closest anyone could get to Woodland by the end of Friday were Nicolai Højgaard and Jackson Suber, who both shot 62 to reach 10 under and stay within reach of Woodland.
Regardless of what happens this weekend, Woodland’s recent return to form has been fantastic to see from one of the most well-liked and respected players on the PGA Tour. He will have plenty of support over the weekend but must fend off a strong group of contenders, as the cream rose to the top of the leaderboard in Friday’s second round.
Leader
1. Gary Woodland (-13): Woodland will be dealing with the nerves of contending on the weekend for the first time in quite some time, as his T2 finish a year ago came courtesy of a 62 of his own on Sunday to post an early number for the rest of the field to chase. How he responds in that position remains to be seen, but he should be able to carry plenty of confidence forward with the way he’s played in his past six rounds — including a strong performance on a tough golf course last week. That confidence, coupled with the burden lifted from opening up about his battle with PTSD and what figures to be strong vocal support from the galleries in Houston, should help buoy him as he tries to hold off the chase pack behind him.
Contenders
T2. Nicolai Højgaard, Jackson Suber (-10)
T4. Min Woo Lee, Jason Day (-9)
6. Michael Thorbjornsen, Sam Stevens (-8)
T8. Adam Scott, Karl Vilips, Zecheng Dou (-7)
T11. Jake Knapp, Sahith Theegala and seven others (-6)
Højgaard continues his strong play to start the season, as he’s made the cut in all seven of his starts and has a pair of top 10 finishes already. His Friday 62 tied the course record, but he was matched for the low round of the day later in the afternoon by Suber, a young player looking to make his mark on the PGA Tour. He can take it low, as he proved on Friday. Suber is looking for a fourth top 10 in his young career — and possibly his first win.
Lee, the defending champion, also made a big move on Friday by shooting a 63 to climb into the top 5 as he looks to go back-to-back at Memorial Park. He’s joined on the first page of the leaderboard by a pair of fellow Aussies and PGA Tour veterans in Jason Day and Adam Scott, as they are looking to snap winless droughts of three and six years, respectively.
Thorbjornsen has been a fixture on leaderboards all season, and the rising star figures to get another weekend of experience contending this week. Others lurking include Knapp and Theegala, both of whom have had solid starts to 2026 but are looking for that real breakthrough week and will need to take it deep on the weekend.
Notable players who missed the cut
- Marco Penge (-1)
- Rickie Fowler (E)
- Nico Echavarria (+1)
- Ryan Gerard (+1)
- Ryan Fox (+1)
- Wyndham Clark (+2)
- Brooks Koepka (+4)
Penge was a popular pick coming into the week after a T4 last week but missed the cut by one stroke. Fowler was part of the story on Thursday after shooting a 67 but struggled to a 73 on Friday that ended his week and severely dented his hopes of making it to the Masters. Echavarria and Gerard came into the week in the top 15 in the FedEx Cup standings only to ultimately miss the weekend. Koepka appeared to be trending in the right direction with his game, though he was completely out of sorts when it came to hitting the course.
Updated Houston Open odds, picks
Odds via FanDuel
- Gary Woodland (2-1)
- Min Woo Lee (24/5)
- Nicolai Højgaard (24/5)
- Jason Day (12-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (12-1)
- Sam Stevens (18-1)
- Jackson Suber (25-1)
There are a lot of potentially great stories on the leaderboard, none better than Woodland. Lee was the pre-tournament favorite after Scheffler withdrew, and might still present some value. Thorbjornsen at 12-1 is a solid play, too, as he just keeps putting himself in position to contend, and it feels like he’s going to win one of these sooner than later.
