Paul Waring leads the Texas Children’s Houston Open by one shot over Gary Woodland after the first round. Waring carded a 7-under 63. Woodland shot a 64.
Woodland’s Birdie Finish and Recent Struggles
Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, had brain surgery to remove a lesion in September 2023. Two weeks ago, he discussed his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in an emotional interview. Woodland said he felt “a thousand pounds lighter” after sharing his experiences.
Woodland finished his round with birdies on his last two holes at Memorial Park. He also finished as runner-up in Houston a year ago. Woodland had a bogey-free round until he went into a deep bunker on the par-3 seventh. He made bogey but responded with a pitch to 6 feet for birdie on the par-5 eighth and a 10-foot birdie to finish.
Waring Overcomes Shoulder Injury
Waring secured a PGA TOUR card through his DP World Tour standing after beating a strong field in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2024. A sore shoulder required cortisone shots, sidelining him in July for five months. He missed the cut in his first three PGA TOUR starts.
Waring went into the hazard area with a small creek on the par-5 eighth. The ball stayed in thick grass on the bank. He blasted it out to 20 feet for a two-putt par and closed out a bogey-free round.
Waring said he had been giving away shots. He added that he holed over 160 foot of putts, which gives him a massive advantage.
Burns, Brennan, and Hoge Close Behind
Sam Burns, Michael Brennan and Tom Hoge are at 65. Marco Penge is in a large group at 66. Penge challenged at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course last week and tied for fourth.
Brooks Koepka struggled on Memorial Park in the middle of his round. He went left into a creek on the par-3 seventh and made double bogey. His tee shot spun back into the water on the par-3 ninth for a double bogey, and it took him two shots to get out of a bunker.