Harry HowBefore Gary Woodland began to really take golf seriously, which was right in the middle of his junior year of high school, we was shooting the lights out on the basketball team. Woodland was so good that he was offered scholarships from a handful of smaller Division I and Division II schools. The dream was to play at the University of Kansas, and by dream we mean pipe dream. As talented as he was, playing for such a storied program was out of the question for the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Woodland.
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But Woodland still wanted to give hoops a try, so he went to Washburn University, a D-II school in his hometown of Topeka, Kansas, to play both basketball and golf. Woodland skipped fall golf to focus on basketball, playing out his freshman season as a backup shooting guard. He averaged six points per game and knocked down 38 of his 120 three-point attempts on the year, but he knew he would never..

To understand why Gary Woodland’s win at Pebble Beach was so popular among his fellow tour pros, you can watch Woodland in the viral video of Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette making par at TPC Scottsdale’s par-3 16th hole in January.
Woodland was the defending champion at the Waste Management Phoenix Open who helped shepherd Bockerstette, a college golfer with Down syndrome, through her incredible up-and-down out of the sand at one of golf’s most renowned holes. By every account, Woodland's especially, the star of the show was the 20-year-old Bockersette. But it’s also apparent how much Woodland relished being a part of it. “Something I’ll never forget,” Woodland said in January.
Five months later, Bockerstette and Woodland still feel a connection to one another. Asked about the experience earlier this week, the golfer said it stood as his all-time favorite moment in the game. And lest you thought Bockerstette was indifferent about the final round of the U.S. Open, the PGA..

2019 U.S. Open highlights, Round 4: Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm.

Memorable shots at No. 17 for US Open at Pebble Beach

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Inside the Ropes: Gary Woodland celebrate winning the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Key hole in the final round of the US Open

Andrew Redington(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)PEBBLE BEACH—Brooks Koepka came up short for his fifth major championship in his last nine starts at the U.S. Open, Gary Woodland besting Koepka by three at Pebble Beach. The oddsmakers don't believe that will deter his resolve next month at Royal Portrush.
According to SuperBook USA, Koepka opens as the overwhelming favorite for the 2019 Open Championship at an eye-popping 6/1 odds.
In itself, Koepka's play warrants such a strong position—he's now finished first or second in four of the last five majors. He also has two top 10s at the Open in his last three appearances, and his caddie Ricky Elliott grew up in the town of Portrush, frequenting the venerable links often as a child.
Following Koepka is Dustin Johnson, coming in at 12/1. Johnson had a disappointing weekend at Pebble Beach, failing to make a weekend move in spite of solid iron play. Johnson's enjoyed some success at the Open, but has finished outsi..

Koepka makes a different kind of history at U.S. Open, but no 3 in a row

Viktor Hovland, who won the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, once again made history at Pebble Beach, breaking Jack Nicklaus' scoring record for an amateur in the U.S. Open. A 4-under-par 67 in the final round of the 2019 U.S. Open put Hovland at 280 over 72 holes, breaking Nicklaus' 1960 mark by two strokes.