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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Waste Management Phoenix Open always has held a special place in Gary Woodland’s heart. For starters, he earned his way into the field at a Monday Qualifier in his rookie season in 2009, received his first sponsor exemption into a PGA Tour field here in 2011 and joined an illustrious list of tournament champions in 2018. Woodland has played here every year except once, in part, because his friends and family in Kansas consider it the closest thing to a home game.
“I think they want to get out of the snow,” said Woodland, who tees off Thursday at 7:50 a.m. local time, with Cameron Smith and Xander Schauffele.
But Woodland’s fondest memory of competing at TPC Scottsdale happened during last year’s pro-am round when he met Amy Bockerstette, a then 20-year-old with Down Syndrome, and invited her to play the par-3 16th hole. The video of her making a par went viral.
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“Last year had a bigger impact on me than winning,” Woodland said. “The impact she had on me that day was not only me, but millions around the world. You’ve seen the people that have been impacted by this, by the video and her attitude, her energy, her love. I keep saying it, it’s so contagious and the world needs a lot more of it. And especially with everything that’s going on in the world right now, we need a lot more Amy in it.”
Woodland credits Bockerstette as his unofficial mental coach, and said that in the crucible of the final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach he channeled her positive energy and mantra – “I got this” – en route to winning his first major.
The two reunited on Wednesday, first at the the 16th hole, where Bockerstette’s Foundation, I Got This, received a check for $25,000 from The Thunderbirds, the host tournament sponsor. Later, Bockerstette joined Woodland at the press conference where she gave him a ball mark and a divot tool engraved with her catchphrase and posed the following question to him: “Gary, when are you going to play golf with me like you said last time?”
Woodland smiled. “We need to do that,” he said. “Sooner than later. When I get back in town we’ll play golf together. Is that a deal?”
On Sunday, Woodland was playing a practice round at TPC Scottsdale when he learned that Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. He said he and his wife took the news hard.
“You wanted to believe it was fake,” he said. “I’ve looked up to Kobe my whole life. I grew up in that generation with him dominating, so I’ve always wanted to be him, the way he worked on the basketball court, I wanted his work ethic. You talked to people with the ‘Mamba mentality,’ that’s what we all strive for as athletes out here.
“For me personally, looking at him the last couple years I want to be like him as a father. I want to be able to spend time with my kids. I brought my kid out yesterday. My kid’s two and a half. That’s the first time he’s walked with me on a golf course. He came out during the practice round. Because with Kobe being taken away, you don’t know how much time we have and I want to be able to share more time with my son now, when my daughters get older. But I brought him out yesterday because of that and let him experience being out and spending time with him. And the impact (Kobe’s) had…he shut the world down for a day.”
Woodland never met Bryant, but he will honor him in Phoenix by doing something special with his golf shoes this weekend. He also changed his Scotty Cameron putter cover to Lakers colors.
“But I think the biggest tribute is try to imitate him in the way to be a father like he was and work hard every day,” he said, “because you never know when it’s taken away from you, so you can’t take any day for granted on and off the golf course.”
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