Paul Waring trying to get his game on track and leads in Houston by one shot over Woodland
HOUSTON — Paul Waring felt he had been giving away shots and he was in position to do that again Thursday in the Houston Open. Instead, the Englishman made a great escape for par and opened with a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead over Gary Woodland. Waring and Woodland are both in the midst of overcoming big obstacles of a different nature.
Woodland, the 2019 U. S. Open champion, had brain surgery to remove a lesion in September 2023, and two weeks ago opened up about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in an emotional interview with Golf Channel.
It was a relief to share it, and some comfort to be in Houston, where he was runner-up a year ago. “I was crying going into the interview, and I left feeling a thousand pounds lighter,” Woodland said after birdies on his last two holes at Memorial Park for a 64. Waring beat a strong field in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2024 that enabled him to get a PGA Tour card through his European tour standing.
And then came a sore shoulder that required cortisone shots, and eventually sidelined him in July for five months. It was a tough start to his PGA Tour career, particularly not being around familiar faces from players to caddies to golf officials. He missed the cut in his first three PGA Tour starts, not overly concerned because he felt he could fix the mistakes.
There weren’t many in the opening round in Houston, except for a tee shot into the water on the 17th, and even then he made an 18-foot par save. He was 7 under when his second to the par-5 eighth went left and into the hazard area with a small creek. The ball stayed in thick grass on the bank and Waring chose to play it.