Rocket Mortgage Classic: Power ranking the top 10 at Detroit Golf Club

What’s next for Gary Woodland? He’s been a proven winner and mainstay on Tour for about a decade. Will his U.S. Open win and maiden major championship lead to bigger things for the 35-year-old?

We’ll have to wait and see, but the pressure is now off. He took last week off to celebrate and is now back competing at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Woodland was awfully impressive in his win at Pebble Beach as he slept on the lead and kept it for two nights. He carded 68-65-69-69 and was able to play his 72nd hole without stress.

He’s built a reputation as a power hitter. Woodland showed more versatility than that to get around Pebble so adeptly.

"“We put a lot of work in this year in becoming a more complete player,” Woodland said in his winner’s press conference. “I can play different golf courses. People probably growing up said U.S. Open wouldn’t suit me, because I’m a long hitter, I’m a bomber. Coming to Pebble Beach, on top of that, it’s a shorter golf course. And went out and proved, I think to everybody else, what I always believed, that I’m pretty good.”"

Woodland also played well at the PGA Championship (T8) and has five top-10’s in 2019.

The former Kansas Jayhawk ranks 15th on Tour in total strokes gained thanks to marks of 13th off the tee, 19th approach and eighth tee to green. His putter (117th) has always been his Achilles heel, but he caught fire at Pebble.

It’d be hard to blame Woodland for coming out flat this week. With that said, I like him to re-calibrate and focus in for this important stretch leading up to the year’s final major next month in Northern Ireland.