ST. LOUIS — Gary Woodland couldn't see his ball go into the hole at the par-4 11th at Bellerive on Thursday but knew something good had just happened based on the crowd's reaction.
Good has been a consistent theme in 2026 for Woodland, who won the Texas Children’s Houston Open in April for his first title since capturing the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. That victory came less than a month after Woodland revealed he had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder from undergoing surgery to remove a brain lesion.
"When you see the crowd jump up and down — that's definitely a bonus," Woodland said of his eagle hole-out with a sand wedge that sent the BMW Championship crowd into a frenzy.
To say the fans are on Woodland's side this week — playing a little more than fours hours from his hometown of Tecumseh, Kansas — is an understatement.
He shot a 64 to open the 2018 PGA Championship, the last time Bellerive played host to a Tour event, before finishing T-6.
"Eighteen years on Tour, this is as close as I'll ever get to home so this is special," said Woodland, who shares the early lead this time around after a 6-under 64. "When it's on the calendar I look forward to coming back."
While happy to be playing in front of family and friends and hearing the roars this week, Woodland said there was one thing he wouldn't be doing — wearing any gold and black, the color's of the University of Missouri.
In fact, Woodland revealed to reporters Thursday at Bellerive that his team had equipped him with some gold and black clothing — a selection he had to openly reject in favor of something that was more in alignment with "Rock Chalk Jayhawk."
"Let's just say there's a lot more blue in the rest of the week for me with this week," said Woodland, who started at Washburn University before transferring to the University of Kansas. "Being a Kansas boy, the fans were very nice to me. But I'm a Kansan at heart."
He told Golf Channel's Kira Dixon that playing this well in front of friends and family was "icing on the cake."
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Woodland shares the lead in St. Louis with the last two U.S. Open winners in Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun, as well as back-to-back Masters champ Rory McIlroy and five-time Tour winner Chris Gotterup.
Earlier this week, Woodland was named the fourth and final vice captain for the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
Woodland emphasized he has no worries working with captain Brandt Snedeker at Medinah after the pair both served as Ryder Cup vice captains at Bethpage Black.
"We talked about it last week in person [in Memphis] but we've been in contact throughout the whole time," he said.
Clark, Gotterup and Spaun rank No. 7, No. 8 and No. 10 in Presidents Cup points, respectively. In theory, Woodland could have a very up close view of one of their games this weekend in Missouri.
Clark was pretty straightforward in how he would like to qualify for the team.
"I don't want to leave it up to chance so that's definitely on my mind a little bit," he said of automatic qualifying. "I would love to try to get into that fifth or sixth spot. But, yeah, at the same time as long as you make the team it doesn't matter if you're 1 or 12."
Mistake free until 18
Woodland played mistake free on the first 17 holes of his opening round, bogeying the par-4 18th when his par putt went wide right. He was accurate throughout the day, hitting 17 out of 18 greens in regulation on his way to carding five birdies and the eagle.
He noted that the course's bigger greens and slopes helped get him into better position than he expected on a few holes.
"I controlled the distance. I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I left a lot out there as well [but] I'm proud of the way I controlled the ball today," said Woodland, who entered the week No. 31 in the FedExCup standings but is now projected at No. 12.
'Wasn't on my mind'
If he makes it to East Lake next week, it would be Woodland's first appearance in the Tour Championship since 2019 — the year he won his only major.
"That's a goal when you start it up every year — is to get to East Lake. It shows the consistency you've had throughout the year," he said. "But for me, from where I've came from and where I've been, that would be a big accomplishment."
It all seemed impossible just eight months ago when Woodland was listing his goals for the 2026 campaign.
"I can promise you East Lake wasn't on my mind to start the year," he said Thursday. "It's a goal, I think you write it down, but it seemed like far, far away. The game's just continued to grind. I've had up-and-down days. I've had some rough days lately...
"I think I got a lot of perspective over the last couple years. I know I'm fighting for a lot more than playing golf. I'm hopefully having a positive impact on a lot of people's lives just showing up and fighting."
Woodland shared a story from Memphis, where he was followed by an 11-year-old from New Zealand who was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
"Hopefully I'm having a bigger impact than just showing up and showing that I can still compete and play out here and live my dreams," he said. "That's the big deal is I'm struggling and I'm still living my dreams. I hope people see that and try to do the same thing."
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