Gary Woodland is one shot off the BMW Championship lead after 36 holes, putting himself in position for East Lake and a second win of a remarkable 2026.
Gary Woodland came to Bellerive needing to save his FedEx Cup season. Instead, he may be playing his way into something much bigger.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion fired a 5-under 65 Friday at the BMW Championship, backing up an opening 64 to reach 11 under through 36 holes.
That leaves Woodland just one shot behind leader Wyndham Clark and, more importantly, well inside the projected top 30 needed to advance to next week’s Tour Championship.
For a player who started the week 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, two points outside the bubble, that’s a huge swing.
It also continues one of the best comeback stories in golf.
Woodland already returned to the winner’s circle earlier this season at the Houston Open, his first PGA Tour victory since undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2023.
Now he’s threatening to win again.
And he’s doing it with the exact kind of game Bellerive demands.
Woodland leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Approach, while also ranking first in driving distance.
The course has been softened by rain, making an already long setup play even longer, and Woodland has used that power without sacrificing control.
He’s hit 20 of 28 fairways and 29 of 36 greens in regulation.
That’s elite ball-striking.
Even more impressive, he’s done all of this while actually losing ground with the putter. If the flat stick heats up at all this weekend, Woodland could become very difficult to catch.
Clark still holds the lead at 12 under after consecutive 64s and has yet to make a bogey through 36 holes. J.J. Spaun sits at 10 under, with Chris Gotterup and Sungjae Im lurking at 9 under.
Rory McIlroy remains in the mix at 7 under, but he’ll need another gear Saturday after failing to build on his opening-round momentum.
The real drama, though, may belong to Woodland.
He began the week needing to chase down Rickie Fowler or Bud Cauley just to reach East Lake.
Now he’s chasing a trophy. And if this keeps up, one of the most inspiring seasons on the PGA Tour could get even better.
