Former US Open Champion gary woodland He said on Monday that he is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder following his 2023 brain surgery golf channel In an emotional interview he said he could no longer “waste energy” trying to hide it.
Woodland had surgery in September 2023 after tests a few months earlier showed a compressed lesion on his brain. Although his tours took off after the procedure and he eventually returned to the PGA Tour in early 2024, he said he still struggled with symptoms and was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD about a year ago.
“Every week, I come out and everyone is so excited and happy that I’m back. I hear this every week: ‘It’s great to see you pass this. It’s great to see you 100%,'” Woodland said when asked by Golf Channel why he publicly disclosed the diagnosis. “And I appreciate that love and support, but inside I feel like I’m dying. I feel like I’m lying. And I don’t want to waste energy on that anymore. I want to focus my energy on me and my recovery, on my dreams, on my family here. “I don’t want to waste energy hiding it.”
Woodland recalled playing in the ProCore Championships last fall, an event that most American players used as a tuneup for the Ryder Cup, in which he was vice captain. Woodland said that during the second round, the scorer, who was walking with his group, approached him from behind, startling him.
“I stepped aside, pulled out my caddy and said, ‘This stuff is killing me, man. You can’t let anybody come after me,'” he told Golf Channel. “The next thing you know, I couldn’t remember what I was doing. My vision was starting to blur. And after one hole, I just said, “Butch, I can’t handle this.’ And I start screaming in the middle of the fair. Now it was my turn to hit, and I couldn’t hit.”
Woodland managed to continue playing. His caddy gave him sunglasses to hide it. He went to the bathroom to cry and as soon as his round was over, he went straight to his car and drove away.
“There are days when it’s hard,” he said, his voice often shaking during the Golf Channel interview. “Crying in a trailer trailer. Running to my car to hide it because I’m scared… I don’t want to live that way anymore. If I’m feeling something, I want to let it out, let it go.”
Woodland, who won the U.S. Open in 2019, praised the PGA Tour for its support, including protocols that helped ensure his safety and additional security while playing. The 41-year-old has maintained a full schedule and is on the field at The Players Championship this week.
Asked if continuing to compete would help, Woodland said he believed it would.
“The doctors said that in an ideal world, I probably wouldn’t play,” he told Golf Channel. “I probably don’t belong in a stressful, overstimulating environment. But my reaction was, in an ideal world, I don’t have [PTSD]. [Golf] This is my dream, this is what I’m going to do, and no matter how hard it is, I’m going to play.”
