Feb 11, 2020
U.S. Open Champ Woodland Joins Two Other Major Championship Winners at The Classic in The Palm Beaches

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL – Gary Woodland, who won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in a duel with Brooks Koepka, will take on Koepka again as well as a world class field in the 2020 Honda Classic, a PGA TOUR event which will be played February 24-March 1 at PGA National Resort and Spa.

Woodland, the 16th-ranked player in the world, is the third of the four 2019 Major Championship winners to commit to The Classic in The Palm Beaches, joining PGA Champion and No. 2 ranked Koepka and The Open Championship winner Shane Lowry.

He joins a field which also includes defending champion Keith Mitchell, No. 10-ranked Justin Rose, No. 11Tommy Fleetwood, No. 15 Louis Oosthuizen, Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell, 2005 and 2015 Honda Classic champion Padraig Harrington, 2014 Honda champion Russell Henley, 2011 Honda champ Rory Sabbatini, 2013 Honda champion Michael Thompson, 2010 Honda champion Camilo Villegas and 1999 Honda champion Vijay Singh.

Other early commitments have come from Jupiter resident Daniel Berger, Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Billy Horschel, Ryo Ishikawa, Russell Knox, Charl Schwartzel, Jhonattan Vegas, and Jimmy Walker.

Players have until Friday February 21 to commit to play in The Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Woodland faced immense pressure from Koepka — trying to win a third straight U.S. Open — down the stretch at Pebble Beach, more than he had ever felt in his career. But he was unflappable making big shot after big shot and then making a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole when all he needed was three putts to win.

It was a monumental breakthrough for a guy who played basketball for one year at Washburn before taking a golf scholarship at Kansas. Woodland had won three times before, including at Phoenix in 2018. But winning a Major like the U.S. Open was obviously very different.

Until then his biggest moment of 2019 came when he starred in a viral video shared by the PGA TOUR with Amy Bockerstette, a 20-year-old with Down Syndrome, during the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Woodland invited her to play the par-3 16th, and Amy hit into a bunker, blasted onto the green and made the par putt, all the while saying, “You got this.” That was the message she sent Woodland on Saturday night during the U.S. Open. Suddenly Woodland became even better known for his golf game.

Now it is a new year with new moments and new challenges.

“I show up to golf tournaments, now I know I’m a major champion,” Woodland said. “I know I can beat the best players in the world any given week. So that’s special.”

Grounds tickets, Bear Trap tickets and other hospitality tickets and packages for the 2020 Honda Classic are on sale at thehondaclassic.com or by calling 1-844-8Honda8 (844-846-6328).