Gary Woodland finished his round with three straight birdies to build a multiple-stroke lead halfway through the Texas Children's Houston Open on Friday at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Woodland followed an opening 64 with a 7-under-par 63 to reach 13-under 127. After tapping in a birdie at the par-5 16th hole, he got out of position on each of the final two holes, missing the fairway left each time.
And each time, Woodland hit splendid recovery shots, setting up a 15-foot birdie putt at No 17 and an 11-footer at No 18.
It made up for his only bogey of the day at No 13, where he lost his tee shot in a water hazard far left.
"That's nice to finish like that, especially after the swing on 13, to be able to let that go and stick to what I've been doing," Woodland said. "I made some good swings coming down the stretch, I'm proud of that."
He's not the only player to capitalise on the scoring conditions at the Houston municipal course. Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard shot an 8-under 62 for the round of the week thus far, catapulting him into second at 10 under in a tie with Jackson Suber (63).
Min Woo Lee, the defending champion, and fellow Australian Jason Day posted rounds of 63 to share fourth place at 9 under. Michael Thorbjornsen (64) and Sam Stevens (65) are tied for sixth at 8 under.
Woodland is closer than ever to what would be an emotional victory. He hasn't won on tour since capturing his first major at the 2019 US Open, but moreover, he underwent surgery to remove a lesion from his brain in September 2023.
He's come close to winning since his return to the tour – most notably tying Scottie Scheffler for second in Houston last year, one stroke behind Lee – but he's continued to fight more than his share of personal battles. Earlier this month, he said in a Golf Channel interview that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as he continues to fight symptoms more than two years post-surgery.
Woodland said "there's no doubt" he feels some special support coming from the gallery, and he's feeding off it.
"This as much as any week, I feel like I've had a lot of support," Woodland said. "Kind of feel like I'm playing at home. The fans have been amazing. I kind of need that energy to help me through the day, that definitely helps. That's something hopefully I can ride on this weekend as well."
Hojgaard eagled the par-5 third hole and birdied the final four holes as part of his stellar day. The 2023 Ryder Cup player has three wins in Europe but has yet to win stateside.
"It was a really nice feeling finishing off like that," he said. "... It's not the top, but it's one of the better rounds. It's probably the lowest round I've shot on the PGA Tour, I think, which is quite nice."
Lee picked up an eagle of his own when he sank a 31 1/2-foot putt at the 16th. Four of his five birdies came on the front nine (his second nine), and he went bogey-free after a modest start Thursday.
"Cleaned it up a little bit more and it was solid," Lee said. "Didn't really do too much wrong, and yeah, a lot of good things. Maybe a couple things to still clean up, but it was cleaned up from yesterday so good step forward."
Adam Scott (66) and Karl Vilips (65) are tied with China's Zecheng Dou (67) at 7 under, making it four Australians in the top 10.
"I think because I had a slow week at The Players, it was important to play before the Masters and refocus, reset certainly the driving, but kind of stay in that competitive mode," Scott said. "So this is a great week for that."
Englishman Paul Waring, the first-round leader, followed his 63 with a 1-over 71 to slide back to 6 under.
The cut line fell at 2 under, leaving notables like Will Zalatoris (1 under), Billy Horschel (even), Rickie Fowler (even), Wyndham Clark (2 over) and Lucas Glover (10 over) to miss the weekend. Brooks Koepka went 75-69 to finish two rounds at 4 over par and miss the cut for the second time in six starts since his reinstatement to the PGA Tour.