It was an emotional day for US golfer Gary Woodland when he won the Houston Open marking his first victory on the PGA Tour in seven years.
The sportsman broke down in tears and embraced his wife, Gabby, after clinching the event in Texas.
The emotions surrounding his win were heightened by the fact Gary recently revealed he’s been battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following brain surgery in 2023.
After his win, he thanked everyone for their support and said: “We play an individual sport but I wasn’t alone today. I’ve got a lot of people behind me — my team, my family. Anybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up — just keep fighting.”
Here’s what we know about Gary’s health battle.
Brain tumor
In 2023, Gary began experiencing worrying symptoms from extreme anxiety to tremors, chills and loss of appetite. The doctor ordered an MRI to rule out Parkinson’s Disease and while it did just that, the results showed lesions pressing on Gary’s brain.
“It was a horrible experience,” Gary said. “All you wanted to do was go to sleep to not think about it, and going to sleep was the worst part. That is where all the seizures were happening. It was a horrible four, five months.”
Gary recalled the conversation with his doctor when he said: “He’s like, you’re not going crazy. Everything you’re experiencing is common and normal for where this thing is sitting in your brain.”
© Puma GolfWhile they initially tried to curb his symptoms using anti-anxiety and anti-seizure medication, surgery was eventually recommended.
A baseball-sized hole was cut out of the left side of his skull so that as much of the tumor could be removed without damaging his eyesight. While the surgery was a success, his recovery would be a lengthy one.
PTSD diagnosis
© Getty ImagesGary returned to TOUR competition in January 2024 but it has been a battle.
Recently, he revealed he received a formal PTSD diagnosis just over a year ago as he continues to struggle with the mental and emotional toll from his surgery.
During an interview with Rex Hoggarda on Golf Channel Gary recalled a terrifying incident during a high profile tournament.
“I was hypervigilant,” he said. “A walking scorer startled me, got close to me from behind. I pulled my caddie and said, ‘You can’t let anybody get behind me.’ Next thing you know, I couldn’t remember what I was doing. My eyesight started to get blurry.”
He wasn’t sure he could continue as he stood on the fairway struggle to focus. “It was my turn to hit and I couldn’t hit,” he said. “Butch (who is his caddie Brennan Little) said, ‘Let’s go in.’ I said, ‘No man, I’m here for these guys. I want to fight through this.'”
He finished the round but confessed his emotional state was in tatters.
“I went into every bathroom to cry the rest of the day,” Gary said. “When I got done, I got in my car and got out of there. There are days when it’s tough – crying in the scoring trailer, running to my car just to hide it. I don’t want to live that way anymore.”
‘I want to help people’
© Getty ImagesGary now has protocols in place to help him feel more comfortable and at ease on the golf course, but it hasn’t been easy.
He wants to open up about his difficult PTSD journey in the hopes it could help someone else suffering.
“I hope somebody that’s struggling sees me out here still fighting and battling and trying to live my dreams,” Gary said. “I’ve talked to veterans, and one thing I’ve heard from multiple people is you can’t do this on your own, no matter how strong you think you are.
“I want to help people, too. I realize now I’ve got to help myself first and hopefully this is the first step in doing that.”
Future career
© Getty ImagesGary returned to golf and has no plans to slow down, however, he told Golf Channel: “Doctors have said in an ideal world, I’m probably not playing. I’m probably not in a stressful, overstimulating environment. But my response was, in an ideal world, I don’t have [PTSD]. [Golf] is my dream, this is what I’m going to do, and no matter how hard it is, I’m going to play.”
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