Gary Woodland back to work in Detroit after major victory

DETROIT – What plugs the enthusiasm into your workday more effectively than a cup of coffee is hearing yourself introduced as “your United States Open champion.”

“I just wasn’t ready for that,” said Gary Woodland. “But it was great. I’ll never get tired of that.”

Eleven days after his impressive victory at Pebble Beach in the 119th U.S. Open, Woodland was back on the job Wednesday, off at 7:10 a.m. ET for a pro-am before the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. It’s a new look to this tournament, a new venue, a new city, and being introduced to the fans as a “United States Open champion” was clearly new to the 35-year-old Woodland.

“(But) I’m doing all right,” said Woodland, who went from a media whirlwind in the aftermath of his win, to some relaxing downtime that included a birthday celebration for 2-year-old son Jaxson. “I kind of had the weekend to myself and my family, which was nice.”

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He got a look at Detroit Golf Club’s front nine late Tuesday, then saw the back nine in his nine-hole pro-am Wednesday. Though he is like nearly every other competitor in this week’s field of 156 – that is, devoid of history at this course – Woodland has a deep respect for anything owed to the genius of its architect.

“Old Donald Ross,” he said. “The greens have a lot of slope to them.”

Conceding that he was entrusting a lot of the course prep work to his outstanding caddie, Brennan Little, Woodland said he’s focused on getting “back to the grind ... back to the routine.”

It was, however, anything but routine when he arrived at his first hole in the pro-am, the 425-yard, dogleg left par 4. There, Woodland discovered that one of his amateur partners was the intriguing Troy C. Mullins, a gifted athlete and notable long-drive winner who is working hard to transition “into a competitive golfer,” she said.

In Woodland, she could not have asked for a better golfer to study up-close and personal.

“I had always (identified) with Gary and his game, because he’s big and muscular,” said Mullins, “but it was great to see the way he (harnesses) that power. He’s pretty smooth and his demeanor is so cool.”

So, while it was a neat experience for Mullins to play alongside a guy who just won the U.S. Open, “it would have been an honor to play with him, either way. The title didn’t make the experience, just being Gary did it.”

Woodland conceded he knew a little of Mullins’ background, how she came into golf a few years ago as a long-drive competitor and attracted favorable attention for her prowess. But at 32, the graduate of Cornell University is determined to be a serious competitive golfer and opportunities like the Rocket Mortgage Classic pro-am aren’t taken lightly.

She also played alongside Cameron Champ and Steve Stricker at the Waste Management Phoenix Open back in February and played with Anirban Lahiri for her final nine holes Wednesday at Detroit Golf Club. Every chance to study how these players comport themselves inside the ropes is appreciated by Mullins, who was also accompanied by her Pomeranian, Etta James, named after the legendary blues singer.

Now, a dog walking inside the ropes at a PGA TOUR pro-am surely attracted attention, but Woodland was among those who soon pushed that aside and paid more study to Mullins. “How about that action?” he said. “It was impressive, and it was all nine holes.”

Woodland was quick to take note that after Mullins, who was assigned to hit from the forward tee, had to feather a soft drive to keep it in the fairway at the opening hole, so by the second hole, the par-3 11th, joined her male amateurs from the middle tees. Yes, the amateurs took advantage of Mullins’ power to reach both par 5s on the front in two shots, and by round’s end there were plenty of smiles.

“I had a great day,” said Mullins, who joined the gathering of fans who applauded when Woodland was introduced as “your United States Open champion” and appreciated the chance to watch one of the world’s best golfers from a front-row seat.

As for Woodland, he will turn a more serious page Thursday afternoon when he joins Keith Mitchell and Brandt Snedeker for a 12:55 p.m. ET first-round tee time. The U.S. Open trophy is back home; his focus is on what’s ahead, which is significant stuff.

“There’s a lot to play for,” said Woodland, who is fifth in the FedExCup standings and seventh on the Presidents Cup list, competitive storylines that factor into his thinking as he surveys the next nine weeks and the end of 2018-19. Woodland has penciled in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Classic the week after The Open Championship where he will reacquaint himself with a course he loves, TPC Southwinds.

Then, he’ll focus on the FedExCup Playoffs where the opener, THE NORTHERN TRUST, will be held at a golf course, Liberty National, where he feels he should have won in 2013. (Woodland failed to birdie a hole on the back nine, closed with 73, and finished in a four-way tie for second, one behind hard-charging Adam Scott.) Throw in the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship, plus the incentive to play in December for Presidents Cup captain Tiger Woods and Woodland said, “there’s still a lot at stake for me.”