Gary Woodland: ‘Anyone struggling, I hope that they see me and don’t give up’

Athletes finding the words to sum up their emotions in those raw minutes after a victory or defeat that will define their careers has always been remarkable. That Gary Woodland could do it last weekend was astonishing.

Woodland’s victory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open was his first PGA title in seven years, although that was almost a mere detail given that it was also his first tournament victory since his brain surgery in 2023.

“We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland said, through watering eyes and a breaking voice.

The wave of well-wishers from across golf and beyond – Donald J Trump found time to post a message of congratulations – were a celebration of not just the serious surgery Woodland went through, but also what he has been dealing with since that operation.

Woodland’s treatment in 2023 required removing a lesion from the part of his brain that controls fear and anxiety, which explained why he had spent the weeks leading up to the operation with his thoughts spiralling.

Before the surgery, which involved make a hole in his head the size of a baseball, Woodland wrote letters to his three children and his wife, just in case.

He recovered in time to return to the PGA Tour the following year, which is remarkable in itself, and the suggestion was that the worst was behind him. At least until three weeks ago. In an interview with the Golf Channel, Woodland admirably revealed that since his return he had been diagnosed with PTSD a year after his surgery.

His openness at a time of clear emotional trauma has made an already popular player even more highly revered by his fellow professionals and supporters.

“Every week, I come out and everyone is so excited and happy that I’m back,” said Woodland. “I hear that every week: ‘It’s so nice to see you passed this. It’s so nice to see you 100%.’ And I appreciate that love and support, but inside, I feel like I’m dying. I feel like I’m living a lie. And I don’t want to waste energy on that any more. I want to focus my energy on me and my recovery, my dreams out here, my family. I don’t want to waste energy hiding this.”

Woodland described his state in those moments as “hyper-vigilant”, referencing a tournament in September last year where he was constantly wary of people walking behind him, suffered from blurred vision, and would burst into tears in the middle of the fairway and in every bathroom around the course.

And so began a new battle, to control and treat his PTSD, with the help of the PGA Tour. The response of Luke Donald to Woodland’s raw interview spoke for everyone. “Gary is one of the best humans I know, this is so unfair. We are all behind you,” said the upcoming European Ryder Cup captain.

Three weeks later in Houston and Woodland was a PGA Tour champion again, revealing that both the PGA’s security and his own personal security had helped him get through a point during Friday’s round when the crowd were too close to him. Seeing that security, knowing they were there, calmed him down. “Anyone struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting.”

It has been a busy 12 months for emotional golfing triumphs. Rory McIlroy’s dazed expression walking off the 18th at Augusta, finally fulfilling his great promise by completing the career Grand Slam with his first major win in 11 years, had almost everyone weeping.

Then there was JJ Spaun’s birdie from the end of the world to win the US Open, followed by Tommy Fleetwood winning his first PGA tournament in his 164th start at the FedEx Cup, a couple of months after he had come up agonisingly short at the Travelers Championship.

And now Woodland. The great South African champion golfer, Gary Player, summed up that moment last Sunday in Houston almost perfectly. “His victory is not just a win on the PGA Tour, but rather a triumph of the human spirit. I salute your strength, your resilience, and your unwavering determination. This is one of the most meaningful victories our game has seen in many years.” No kidding.

Last year, long before his public admission about his battle with PTSD, Woodland shot an impressive final round of 62 to finish as the runner-up at the Houston Open, one behind the winner Min Woo Lee.

Fast forward 12 months and the pair were in the same final group walking up to the 18th, except this time with Woodland comfortably in the lead. Lee, in a wonderful moment, could be seen hyping up the crowd as he and playing partner Nicolai Højgaard applauded Woodland, letting him lead the way up to the final green.

Woodland, the 2019 US Open winner, said that he left that Golf Channel interview feeling “1,000lb lighter”. His speed and power off the tee has returned. Add in his improved putting – holing 80% of his 10-15ft putts in Houston – and the rest of the field could not touch him last Sunday.

Woodland’s victory booked his ticket back to the Masters. Aside from McIlroy, few golfers will be more popular around Augusta, with so many moved by the sight of Woodland in Houston, eyes to the heavens, soaking in a moment that he would have dreamed about in those worst moments in his hospital bed, during his recovery and in those dark times when his anxiety took over.

This is an ongoing battle. And yet after his brave admission a few weeks ago, Woodland knows that he will not have to face it alone.

Photograph by Michael Wyke/AP Photo