Gary Woodland Left Frustrated After Flagstick Sends Approach Away From Hole
HOUSTON, TX - MARCH 27: Gary Woodland USA twirls his club at the end of his tee shot on 12 during the second round of the Texas Children s Houston Open on March 27, 2026, at Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas. Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire GOLF: MAR 27 PGA, Golf Herren Texas Children s Houston Open EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2603270392
HOUSTON, TX - MARCH 27: Gary Woodland USA twirls his club at the end of his tee shot on 12 during the second round of the Texas Children s Houston Open on March 27, 2026, at Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas. Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire GOLF: MAR 27 PGA, Golf Herren Texas Children s Houston Open EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2603270392
Gary Woodland hit the flagstick on his approach shot during Friday's Charles Schwab Challenge. The ball rolled off the green. This bad break comes as Woodland attempts to climb the leaderboard at Colonial Country Club.
The PGA Tour posted a video on X on Friday showing the entire sequence during Round 2 of the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
The moment stung given Woodland's putting problems all season.
Woodland struggled early in the 2026 season, finishing outside the top 60 in four of his first six starts. But his results got better over the next few weeks.
He finished in the top 15 in three of his next four tournaments. His biggest success came in March when he won the Texas Children's Houston Open, his first PGA Tour victory since winning the U.S. Open in 2019.
Woodland is still dealing with complications from a brain tumor that nearly ended his career, and his Houston Open win was one of the best stories on the PGA Tour this season.
Colonial suits his game on paper. Woodland finished at T11 at 6-under in his most recent appearance at the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2025.
He has finished in the top 20 four times in his last 10 appearances at the tournament.
The Putting Slump That Has Shadowed Gary Woodland's Strong Ball-Striking All Season
Colonial Country Club is a 7,209 to 7,289-yard par-70 course that rewards accuracy more than distance. Before this week's tournament, Woodland was still hitting the ball well, but his putting had not been as strong.
The course places a big focus on accurate shots from tee to green, and good approach play is often the key to success. Woodland missed the cut at the 2026 PGA Championship after struggling badly with his putting.
That came after a stretch that included three top-20 finishes in eight starts, and the putter has been the one area dragging his results down.
A flagstick costing him a clean look at birdie added one more difficult moment to that stretch. At Colonial, where margins are small and approach shots are everything, those moments add up.
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Written by
Sneha Abraham
Edited by
Pulkit Prabhav