Gary Woodland is announced to be one of the sponsor’s exemption at the upcoming Tiger Woods’ event, the Genesis Invitational. The 39-year-old American golfer underwent a brain surgery in 2023 and getting an entry in the third signature event of the PGA Tour is a huge opportunity for him.
Getting a sponsor’s exemption in a signature event is like a lottery ticket. Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Peter Malnati and Maverick McNealy received the invite at the second signature event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. They garnered a lot of criticism as first three mentioned players were part of Tour’s six-member Policy Board.
Gary Woodland receiving a sponsor’s exemption came out of nowhere. Well, he must be thanking Tiger Woods who host the Genesis Invitational. Apart from him, he might also take some time to thank Justin Thomas who cleared a spot by earning an automatic entry.
Thomas is currently ranked inside top 30 in the World thanks to his overwhelming form in past few tournaments. If he had not maintained that spot, he could have been the sponsor’s exemption at the Genesis Invitational.
After Returning to The PGA Tour, Gary Woodland Opens Up About Brain Surgery
The 2019 US Open champion had to undergo a brain surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion. Four months later, he made his first start on the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii. While speaking to media, the American golfer said,
“I want to prove to my kids nobody is going to tell you you can’t do anything. You can overcome tough, scary decisions in your life. Not everything is easy. This came out of nowhere for me, but I’m not going to let it stop me. I don’t want this to be a bump in the road for me. I want it to be a jump start in my career.”
After undergoing surgery on a brain lesion, @GaryWoodland sheds light on what he has been through over the past year. pic.twitter.com/FJG39nnmkP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 9, 2024
Gary Woodland was last seen playing at the WM Phoenix Open. He missed the cut at the TPC Scottsdale. Now, the 39-year-old American will be seen playing at the upcoming PGA Tour signature event, the Genesis Invitational. He has been invited in the tournament as one of the four sponsor’s exemption. The host, Tiger Woods, is also one of the sponsor’s exemption in the upcoming event at Riviera Golf Course.
It would really mean a lot to Woodland as he would certainly be guaranteed some sort of money at Genesis Invitational. However, the former US Open champion would hope to capitalize on the opportunity and finish as high as possible on the leaderboard.
