When we look back on Gary Woodland’s victory in the U.S. Open years from now, everyone will remember his pitch shot on the 17th at Pebble Beach.
With Brooks Koepka chasing him down the stretch, Woodland’s tee shot on 17 ended up 90 feet from the hole on the hourglass green. But he pulled out his wedge and nearly holed his chip off the fringe. Woodland saved par and held on to his two-shot lead.
Jack Nicklaus tweeted that the pitch “took a lot of guts. Promise you I would not have had that much guts. I might have putted it & played for 4.”
Woodland said he and swing coach Pete Cowen had worked on the shot earlier in the week.
“If I putted it, I don’t think I could have got within 20 feet,” Woodland said. “Fortunately I did have that shot earlier in the week. And I was just trying to get it down there, trying to get it past the hole so I could be putting back uphill, and it came off perfectly. I clipped it nicely.”
