Gary Woodland was only two shots off the lead entering the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but probably knew that he was going to need to shoot a low number to get in contention given the red numbers TPC Scottsdale often throws out.
Woodland came out swinging, putting together a five-under par 30 on the front nine, then rebounding from a pair of costly bogeys on the 11th and 14th with three straight birdies on 15, 16 and 17 to finish off a 64 and reach 18-under par. While watching Chez Reavie make a 21-foot birdie putt at the last hole to force a playoff, Woodland made a nice recovery from a fairway bunker on the first extra hole, and two putts from the fringe secured the win when Reavie made bogey.
As usual, Woodland was strong off the tee, averaging an impressive (291.1 metres) 318.3 yards for the week with his TaylorMade M3 440 driver. However, it was his work with his irons and wedges along with a revived game on the greens that provided the difference.
In 2016-’17 Woodland ranked 165th in strokes gained/putting – the third time in four years he was outside the top-120. This season, however, Woodland ranks eighth, and his performance this week – and in the final round in particular – with his Scotty Cameron by Titleist prototype putter continued that good work with the flatstick. Woodland posted a 3.502 strokes-gained mark on Sunday and was .847 for the week. Additionally, he averaged hitting 14 greens in regulation per round, none more important than the tee shot on the par-3 16th to nine feet and then using his Callaway Mack Daddy PM lob wedge to stick his approach on the 17th hole to five feet for a final – and what turned out to be, winning – birdie.
The clubs Gary Woodland had in the bag at the Waste Management Phoenix Open:
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X
Driver: TaylorMade M3 440, 9 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M2 2017, 15 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade M2 2017, 18 degrees
Irons (4-9): Titleist 716 MB; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM7
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM 7 Raw (52, 57 degrees); Callaway Mack Daddy PM (60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist prototype
