Another memorable day in the life of KU legend Gary Woodland

When you think about Hall of Famers at the University of Kansas, your mind tends to go straight to names like Wilt Chamberlain, James Naismith, Danny Manning, Lynette Woodard, Marian Washington, Bill Self and even John Hadl and Gale Sayers.

There are others, of course. Many, many others. And the list is comprised of a bunch of names you know and quite a few you probably don’t, too.

Obviously, each one did something significant or profound for KU during his or her playing or coaching days. In many cases, each one did several memorable things to represent KU, fight for the Jayhawks and bring joy to countless Kansas fans.

The school’s latest Hall of Fame inductee, golfer and all-around-good-guy Gary Woodland, certainly did all of that and more.

Woodland, a native of Topeka and the biggest and brightest KU golfer — men’s or women’s — in the school’s history, was officially inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday evening during a ceremony at the golf complex named in his honor, which he helped build.

It certainly appeared to be an emotional day — in the best way — for the cream of the crop in KU golf. Him just hearing the news that he was going to be the latest inductee was emotional enough, as shown in this KU video of the phone call from KU AD Travis Golf, administrator Sean Lester and golf coach Jamie Bermel.

One of my favorite Woodland stories, other than the countless times I’ve watched him battle the best in the world on the PGA Tour — none more memorable than the 2019 U.S. Open, when he caught fire, held off all challengers and became the first Jayhawk golfer to win a major — took place in one of Woodland’s favorite places on the planet.

Allen Fieldhouse.

Like many of you, I’ve seen Woodland at KU basketball games for years. Most nights, he keeps to himself, sits at or near courtside, and is there to watch his favorite team.

He’s always kind to anyone who says hey and he genuinely seems to enjoy the camaraderie among Jayhawk fans.

One particular night, I caught up with him in one of the tunnels on my way to my seat on the floor. We said hey real quick, made a little small talk about golf and were set to move on. Before we did, he grabbed me and said, “I want to introduce you to Butch Harmon.”

The Butch Harmon. As in, golf instructor extraordinaire and former Tiger Woods swing coach Butch Harmon.

He was at the Fieldhouse for the first time that night. It was a thrill to meet him. And it only happened because Woodland thought beyond himself and beyond my ability to look past who I thought was a random dude he was with that night.

Another favorite Woodland story happened just a few months ago, when I saw him at a KU baseball practice before the Jayhawks’ trip to the NCAA Tournament.

He stopped by that day to say hey to the boys, wish them well in the postseason and do what he loves doing — watch Jayhawks compete.

There was a PGA Tour event that weekend and Woodland wasn’t there.

I asked the 41-year-old how that settled with him, given that he spent his youth chasing the dream of calling himself a member of the PGA Tour and then, once he achieved that dream, spent years playing, week in and week out, as one of the best golfers in the world.

His answer didn’t surprise me, but, as a dad myself, it made me smile.

He said he was totally cool with his new schedule — some weeks on, some weeks off — because it gave him the opportunity to spend more time with his kids, twin girls Maddox and Lennox and his son Jaxson.

What an awesome perspective on life, one, no doubt, made even more clear following a 2023 craniotomy that threatened to cut Woodland’s golf career short.

Traveling the globe to play the top courses, compete against the best golfers in the world and battle for massive prizes is all well and good. And, thanks to the balance he has struck and his full return from brain surgery, Woodland has lots of years still ahead to do all of that.

But the years he can be a dad to young kids at home, experiencing all of the joys and wild times that come with that, are short-lived, good, bad or otherwise.

Clearly, he gets that.

For all the things you know about Gary Woodland, the U.S. Open title, the four PGA Tour victories, the vice captainship with the upcoming U.S. Ryder Cup team, his intense love of all things Kansas and all things Jayhawks, it’s the talent, the achievements and the person, all rolled into one, that make him such an awesome and worthy inductee into KU's Hall of Fame.

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