PGA Tour: The most dominant players of the West Coast Swing
By Bill Felber
Of Gary Woodland’s four starts, three resulted in top 10 finishes. Easily the most memorable – and statistically the most significant to his West Coast rank — was his runner-up at the Sentry TOC. Woodland carried a five-stroke lead into the final round, shot 68 yet somehow still managed to lose to Xander Schauffele in a playoff.
One week later at the Sony Open, Woodland delivered his only clunker, one of those “made cut, did not finish” performances. He recovered to tie for ninth at the Farmers, and at the Waste Management Phoenix Open tied for third.
Of Woodland’s 15 tournament rounds on the swing, 10 were registered in the 60s. Even granting that the West Coast tends to be laden with tournaments where birdies are a dime a dozen, that’s strong.
His only truly disruptive round was a Saturday 76 at the Sony, the performance that cost him a chance to post a four-round score. His showing at the Sentry shot him to the No. 2 spot in the FedEx Cup standings, and he has since then fallen only to No. 3.
That’s a dramatic step up for Woodward, whose only previous Top 25 FedEx Cup finish occurred in 2011. Less than halfway into the season, he’s already approaching a career high for winnings with more than $2.6 million in official money, third most on tour.