Gary Woodland hoping weight loss can prolong PGA career

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA - JUNE 18: Gary Woodland of the United States plays a shot from the 11th fairway during the first round of the 115th U.S. Open Championship at Chambers Bay on June 18, 2015 in University Place, Washington. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

A slimline Gary Woodland is hoping his lockdown weight loss can prolong his career and boost his bid for a second major title in the US PGA Championship at Harding Park.

While Bryson DeChambeau used the game's shutdown to add 20lbs of muscle to become an incredibly long hitter, Woodland opted to lose a similar amount of weight ahead of a demanding stretch of golf.

"I pretty much cut out fried food and sugar," revealed the 36-year-old American, who won his maiden major title in the US Open at Pebble Beach last year. "I would say my three-year-old probably eats better than I used to.

"I knew I had a significant amount of time off. It's probably something I should have done a long time ago, take care of my body a little bit.

"I'm getting a little older and being out here, hanging around Justin Thomas and all these young guys, I need to take care of myself if I want to be here for a lot longer.

"I knew we had a huge stretch coming up, starting with the PGA this week, our (FedEx Cup) play-offs, then we have US Open, then a little bit of a break before the Masters.

"So we're getting my body ready for a big stretch and I needed to lose some weight. I was down just over 27 pounds, I'm down about 20 pounds right now, which I feel I'm in a pretty good spot where I want to be right now. I feel better when I get done walking after the round.

"With all the travel going to east coast, west coast, the strain of hitting all these golf balls and everything with your body, I wanted to feel better and I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to be out here for a long time and I needed to change my body to do that."

Meanwhile, US captain Steve Stricker will still get six wild cards for the Ryder Cup, despite the biennial contest being delayed until 2021.

Stricker was initially given six rather than four wild cards in June when the coronavirus pandemic had forced 11 events on the PGA Tour to be cancelled.

And even though the PGA Tour has since successfully restarted and the Ryder Cup has been pushed back until September 24-26 next year, Stricker will be able to select half his team for the contest at Whistling Straits in his native Wisconsin.

The top six players on the points list after the 2021 BMW Championship (the second FedEx Cup play-off event) will qualify for the team automatically.

Stricker will then select his wild cards following the season-ending Tour Championship.

On the European Tour, American John Catlin and his caddie Nathan Mulrooney have been withdrawn from this week's English Championship at Hanbury Manor after they breached Covid-19 protocol.

The pair visited a local restaurant in Hertfordshire on Tuesday evening outside the tournament bubble, which compromised the Tour's strict health guidelines.

"I apologise to my fellow players and everyone involved with the tournament this week for this error of judgement. I understand the European Tour's decision and accept the sanction," said Catlin.