Fansided

U.S. Open: Would Gary Woodland victory be good for golf?

By Sam Ofman

ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 09: Gary Woodland of the United States plays his tee shot on the 17th hole during the first round of the 100th PGA Championship at the Bellerive Country Club on August 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 09: Gary Woodland of the United States plays his tee shot on the 17th hole during the first round of the 100th PGA Championship at the Bellerive Country Club on August 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) /
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Gary Woodland enters the weekend with a two stroke lead at the US Open. Should the PGA Tour be rooting for him?

Last August, I wrote my first-ever FanSided article on how Gary Woodland winning the 2018 PGA Championship would be a good thing for the game of golf. He held the 36-hole lead at Bellerive and entered moving day on the cusp of a career defining weekend.

Then he hit a bunker shot over the green into another bunker. His next shot found its way back to the first bunker. It was ugly. He played the weekend at even par to finish six shots back of Brooks “I win all the majors” Koepka.

Woodland remains on the cusp of that career defining win, and once again finds himself sitting on the 36-hole lead at  a major championship, this time at Pebble Beach, one of the most iconic venues in golf.

The Kansas Jayhawk isn’t exactly the face of the game. He’s 25th in the world rankings, one spot behind Phil Mickelson, and entered the week 9th in the FedEx Cup standings, sandwiched between a mullet-toting Rickie Fowler and his Saturday playing partner, Justin Rose. While Woodland’s game is on the rise, his profile certainly isn’t equal to the company he keeps in the standings.

You don’t often see him in feature groups, but Woodland’s becoming a regular feature on leaderboards.

Last year, I argued that the Tour should embrace its second-tier stars. We’re no longer in an era where Tiger is the only draw. We don’t need Dustin Johnson to face off with Rory McIlroy in the final group to find the action captivating. The parody on Tour makes it possible for new faces to compete every week, and the more faces we recognize, the more we emotionally invest in the individual performances of less renowned players.

The PGA Tour should go all in on Gary Woodland. Not because he’s Gary Woodland, but because he isn’t Tiger Woods or Jordan Spieth. Woodland represents a set of players with elite talent who are one big win away from becoming a marketable star. And the PGA Tour can always use more recognizable stars.

Next. What US Open leaders need to do on the weekend. dark

We should all jump on the Woodland Wagon this weekend. Fingers crossed he stays out of the bunkers this time.

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