Virginia Golfer September/October 2013 | Page 15

into it, without a lot of money coming back in. ON PHYSICAL FITNESS: One of my greatest strengths is my physical fitness and trying to be athletic. Now that I’m getting a little older, I have to keep up with the younger guys. [Laughs]. Everyone is so fit and strong now and everyone hits it so far that I don’t have a choice but try to keep up. I lift weights, do a lot of stretching and dynamic core work so my body is more functional in the golf swing. ON HIS ADVICE TO AMATEUR PARTNERS WITH WHOM HE PLAYS IN PRO-AMS: A majority of amateurs hit the ball a lot better than they score. If they could increase their knowledge of the shots around the green, they could improve drastically. By simply having a couple ‘go-to’ shots that they can execute time and time again, they can eliminate some indecision and wasted strokes around the green. A flop shot is not one of those ‘go-to’ shots. [Laughs]. would’ve broadcast a little more because everyone got along so well, but I guess that would go against showing the fierce competition that we had going. ON THE ARRIVAL OF HIS AND WIFE, ERIN’S, FIRST CHILD, TREY: It puts a different perspective on what your goal is every morning when you wake up. Before it was, ‘OK what am I going to do to get better with my job and what am I going to do to be a better husband?’ Now, the first thing I think about is, ‘What I am going to do to make sure I keep this little guy alive?’ It shifts the order of which things are most important in your life. Erin talks to him all the time, including ON ‘BIG BREAK’ STARDOM: I watched every week. Even though I knew what the end result was going to be, I didn’t know which clips they were going to use during each competition. I definitely got some more insight about what other contestants thought about the challenges. Sure, sometimes others were rooting for you to finish second, but it was more humorous than it was irritating. This summer, I must’ve been asked hundreds, if not thousands, of times, ‘Did you win?’ ‘How did it finish?’ ‘What did you do?’ I kept repeating my real generic response: ‘I guess you’ll just have to watch.’ [Laughs]. Now I know what it’s like to be in front of Congress. There were some funny bloopers in between challenges. The group was singing random songs constantly— lots of laughing and joking. One girl, Taylor Collins, was kind of icy at first, so everyone kept singing ‘Cold As Ice.’ She wasn’t really that way, but that’s the impression she gave when she initially walked in to meet everybody, so the song caught on. That’s the part I wish they He turned professional in 2004 and has collected 10 victories on w w w. v s g a . o r g Master_VSGA_Sept13_MASTER2.indd 13 about how daddy is doing [with golf]. Whether he knows it or not, he’s getting an update [Laughs]. ON WINNING THIS SUMMER’S STATE OPEN OF VIRGINIA: I set a goal for myself to shoot 16 under. It was a rewarding feeling to accomplish it and win a four-round event. You gain so much confidence that carries over to other events, no matter what the situation or the field. In the end, you’re playing the golf course, not anyone else. There’s no defense in golf. Even if I didn’t win, I wanted to shoot 16 under and reach that target number. If someone played better than me, I’d still feel good about my execution. “my goal is not only to play on the pGA tour, but to play against and beat the best.” the mini-tours. Woodson won the State Open of Virginia in 2012 and 2013. September/OctOber 2013 | Virginia golfer 13 8/30/13 8:36 AM