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Highlights | Round 3 | Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Written by Staff
HOUSTON (AP) — Gary Woodland needed to play arduous to remain in entrance Saturday in the Texas Children’s Houston Open, including a pair of late birdies for a 5-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead over Nicolai Højgaard as he chases his first win since the 2019 U.S. Open.
Woodland and Højgaard (63) had been flawless in the ultimate hour at Memorial Park and created some separation going into Sunday, with nobody else nearer than 5 pictures.
Gary Woodland’s Round 3 highlights from Texas Children’s
Woodland has turn out to be a well-liked determine in golf for the way in which he has dealt with his restoration from mind surgical procedure in September 2023, and earlier this month opened up about his struggles with post-traumatic stress dysfunction throughout an emotional interview at THE PLAYERS Championship.
His golf has regarded pretty much as good as ever, with full management of his swing and full use of his athletic energy.
“I’ve just got to take a deep breath,” Woodland mentioned. “I’ll have a good night ahead of me tonight to recover and rest, and tomorrow just don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I’m doing.”
Woodland was at 18-under 192, the first time he has held the 54-hole lead since that 2019 main title at Pebble Beach. He has been helped by a change in shafts in his irons, noticing he was shedding just a little management as his velocity started to return.
He was notably robust down the stretch, and he needed to be with Højgaard chasing him. Woodland drilled a 2-iron over the water and onto the inexperienced on the par-5 sixteenth — one in all solely 5 gamers to hit the inexperienced in two — for a two-putt birdie.
Nicolai Højgaard converts birdie at Texas Children’s
His drive on the reachable par-4 seventeenth hit the bunker with such pressure that it hopped out onto the collar, and he pitched down to five toes for an additional birdie.
Højgaard was proper there with him, hitting a pleasant chip on the sixteenth for a birdie and getting up-and-down from a bunker on the seventeenth for an additional one. The Dane received again into the combo with a 62 on Friday, and he was equally efficient on Saturday together with his 63. He has made 15 birdies and one eagle the final two rounds.
Defending champion Min Woo Lee (67) and Michael Thorbjornsen (66) had been 5 pictures behind. Sunday is huge for Thorbjornsen, who’s No. 56 in the world. The high 50 after this week earn Masters invites, and the Massachusetts native seemingly wants no higher than eighth place.
Min Woo Lee birdies drivable par 4 at Texas Children’s
Højgaard continues to be not in the Masters, although at No. 47, he’s just about a lock to remain in the highest 50 barring a curious chain of occasions at Memorial Park.
Woodland would want nothing wanting a victory to get again to the Masters. Even a perk like that’s secondary,
The surgical procedure was to take away an enormous a part of a lesion that was producing unfounded fears of dying. He returned to the PGA TOUR at first of 2024, however solely lately shared his struggles with PTSD, how he would start crying in the center of the spherical and typically disguise in the toilet.
To share that publicly was an infinite aid for Woodland, who mentioned earlier this week he felt “1,000 pounds lighter.”
Now the main focus turns towards successful the Texas Children’s, the place he got here shut final 12 months as a runner-up. Woodland leads the sector in strategy to the inexperienced, and he’s second in placing — a barely new putter has helped with alignment.
Facing him might be Højgaard, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023 for Europe. His equivalent twin, Rasmus, already has certified for the Masters.
The 25-year-old Dane has three wins on the DP World Tour, together with the DP World Tour Championship on the finish of 2023. He has but to win on the PGA TOUR.
“You know it’s going to be a grind, you know it’s going to come down to potentially the last few holes anyway,” he mentioned. “So you’ve just got to stay in the fight and play your best and do your best and then let’s see where we end up.”
