PGA Golfer Gary Woodland Opens Up About Battle With PTSD In Wake Of 2023 Brain Surgery

Gary Woodland, a former U.S. Open champion, stated Monday that he’s been in a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following brain surgery back in 2023. Speaking with Golf Channel in an emotional interview, Woodland said he “can’t waste energy” anymore attempting to hide his PTSD.

In Sept. 2023, Woodland had the surgery following tests a few months prior showing that his brain was being pressed on by a lesion. After the procedure was over, Woodland’s seizures came to a halt, and he eventually made a PGA Tour return when 2024 kicked off. However, he would still face off against symptoms, ultimately being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder around one year ago.

“Every week, I come out and everyone is so excited and happy that I’m back. I hear that every week: ‘It’s so nice to see you passed this. It’s so nice to see you 100%,’” said Woodland when questioned by Golf Channel about his reasoning for revealing his PTSD to the public. “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 anymore. 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.” (RELATED: Well, This Explains A Lot About Why Team USA Baseball Let Us Down After All The Hype)

Woodland spoke about competing in Fall 2024 at the Procore Championship, which is an event used by the majority of American players for tuning up for the Ryder Cup, where Woodland was named a vice captain. Woodland stated in the second round, his group’s walking scorer was very close to him at one point, specifically from behind which startled the golfer.

“I stepped aside, I pulled my caddie and said, ‘This stuff is hitting me, man. You can’t let anybody get behind me,’” said Woodland while speaking with Golf Channel. “Next thing you know, I couldn’t remember what I was doing. My eyesight started to get blurry. And a hole later, I just said, “Butch, I can’t handle it.’ And I start bawling in the middle of the fairway. It was my turn to hit, and I couldn’t hit.”

Gary Woodland sits down with Rex Hoggard to discuss his struggle with PTSD following brain surgery in September of 2023. pic.twitter.com/zf7A3EFulk

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 10, 2026

Woodland kept playing, with his caddie providing him sunglasses in an attempt to conceal. He cried in bathrooms as the round went on, and when it came to its conclusion, he immediately went to his vehicle and exited.

“There are days where it’s tough,” said Woodland to Golf Channel with a trembling voice. “Crying in a scorer 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.”

Winning the 2019 U.S. Open, Woodland rained down praise on the PGA Tour for providing assistance, which included protocols that assisted with ensuring safety and ratcheted up security at the time of competition. Woodland, 41, has played a complete schedule and is set to participate at the upcoming Players Championship. (RELATED: Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo Does His Best Kobe Bryant Impression With Incredible 83-Point Game)

When questioned if persisting play will help him out, Woodland stated that he thinks it will.

“Doctors have said in an ideal world, I’m probably not playing,” said Woodland. “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.”