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More often than not, events that employ the modified Stableford format provide some fireworks down the stretch. This year’s Reno – Tahoe Open was an exception to that history. Gary Woodland cruised to a nine point victory at Montreux Golf and Country Club. He finished with a total of 44 points, with the next closest competitors, Jonathan Byrd and Andres Romero, having accumulated 35 points. Romero continued his penchant from coming up just short at this event, as he added this year’s second place finish to last year’s third place result.
“It felt like it was meant to be this week,” said Woodland. His best finishes to this point in the PGA Tour season had been three ties for 16th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Memorial Tournament and AT&T National. The victory moved him from 116th in the FedEx Cup standings to 54th. That is a huge jump just weeks before the The Barclays – which is the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The $540,000 check he will receive is also nothing to disregard.
It wasn’t an easy ride for Woodland last week, however. He holed a 58 foot chip from the rough for a birdie in addition to having to get up and down on five different occasions just to save par. Had he faltered on a few of those chances, the final leaderboard could look much different than it does.
All in all, it was a great week for Woodland. It just goes to show that any victory on the PGA Tour – even if it’s not the biggest tournament of the week – can go a long way towards improving your status.
Carl Conrad is the Senior Golf Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.
