Gary Woodland reacts after missing a putt on the 13th green in the final of the Match Play Championship on Sunday in San Francisco. Though Woodland finished second to Rory McIlroy, Woodland jumped from 52nd to 32nd in the World Golf Rankings.

Our local touring PGA player can be a frustrating guy to follow.

It’s not frustrating to watch him, as long as you realize that golfers with exceptional swing speed tend to stack up more double bogeys because the smallest deviation from a perfect swing is exaggerated more than for typical pros. It’s frustrating to not watch him. Gary Woodland skips many tournaments, and when he’s not playing, it’s more enjoyable playing golf than watching it. And nothing is more frustrating than playing golf.

It’s not that Woodland doesn’t enjoy playing in tournaments or lacks the stamina to compete in more of them. Any golfer near the No. 50 mark in the World Golf Rankings must plan his schedule carefully either to crack into the top 50 or protect one’s position in it. Finishing in the top 50 is an automatic ticket to several big tournaments, including The Masters. Woodland finished 48th last season, which takes care of this year. He entered last weekend’s Match Play Championship ranked 52nd. After finishing second to Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Woodland shot all the way up to No. 32, which takes the air out of any argument that he should play more often.

Phil Mickelson (personal reasons), Luke Donald (brother’s wedding) and Tim Clark (elbow injury) were the only players among the top 64 in the world who did not participate. Tiger Woods (116) didn’t qualify. In other words, Woodland had a better week than Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Jimmy Walker (defeated him in 19 holes), J.B. Holmes, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Martin Kaymer, etc. At the end, only McIlroy and Woodland were standing.

Woodland knows exactly what he’s doing with his schedule, and he’s working it to his advantage. Had he kept me glued to the TV every weekend last summer, local fairways would have far fewer deep divots, but who knows if he would have played as well at The Match Play Championship?

The World Golf Rankings has a significant strength-of-opponent (in this case everyone in the field) element to it, similar to college basketball rankings. The greater the quality of the field, the more points awarded toward one’s ranking.

Consequently, if a tournament with a relatively weak field is played on a course Woodland believes does not suit his game well, playing in it is not worth the risk, so he passes and either spends the time working on his game with instructors or playing with friends, giving him a break from the pressure.

Had Woodland’s goal last year been to preserve the condition of fairways in Lawrence by keeping me glued to the TV set, instead of cracking the top 50 of the WGR, he likely would not have finished in the top 50 and wouldn’t have played in last weekend’s event, and, man, did he ever show the world that his game is in terrific shape.

Based on last year, Woodland also qualified for The Players Championship, which some call the “fifth major,” played every year at TPC at Sawgrass, the one with the island green on No. 17. Woodland tees off today at 7:39 a.m. with James Hahn and Ian Poulter, whom Woodland defeated, 3 and 2, in the Match Play Championship last weekend in San Francisco.

Based on last weekend’s break-out performance, I am expecting the cameras will find him more often than usual, as long as he stays hot. Lest you think that translates to fewer cavernous divots on Lawrence fairways, think again. I found the remote recently, know how to operate the DVR and am taking a few more vacation days. “Fore!”