Gary Woodland completes inspirational comeback after brain surgery and PTSD, urges those struggling to 'keep fighting'
Gary Woodland opens up about support from wife Gabby, advice from veterans and how he was determined not to let his brain tumour win after winning first PGA Tour title since surgery in 2023; American, who has sealed a Masters spot, feels "freed up" after revealing PTSD diagnosis
Monday 30 March 2026 12:19, UK
"Anybody that is struggling with something, I hope they see me and don't give up. Just keep fighting."
Those words were uttered by Gary Woodland in an emotional interview moments after he secured his first PGA Tour win since undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour in September 2023.
"From when I was diagnosed with this thing on my brain, the whole thing was I wasn't going to let it win. Today was evidence of that."
- Final leaderboard: Texas Children's Houston Open
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The American's five-stroke victory at the Texas Children's Houston Open, which has secured him a spot in The Masters at Augusta National from April 9, came seven years on from his last PGA Tour triumph, the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach.
Woodland credited his success in Texas to opening up about the toll his medical issues have had on him, revealing earlier this month in an interview with The Golf Channel that he has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder since his operation.
He has battled anxiety and hypervigilance, with an episode coming this week in Houston during his second round.
"I teed off on nine, some people behind the ropes got close to me and I got extremely hypervigilant.
"I was a wreck the last 10 holes of that day. I got into scoring, I bawled my eyes out, I reset and was able to come back out and take care of stuff after."
Woodland 'chasing his dreams' after going public with PTSD diagnosis
Woodland praised the PGA Tour's security team for calming him down and also himself for asking for help, something he says he had not done to that point.
Going public about his personal toils has made the 41-year-old feel "a thousand pounds lighter". Now, after winning the Houston Open, he is over a million dollars richer. That is not really the point, though. This victory is not about cash or cachet but about courage.
"It's just another day that I've got to keep healing. Today was a good day. I have a big fight ahead of me and I am going to keep going. I am proud of myself right now.
"Coming out with what I'm battling definitely freed me up a little bit. It allowed me to focus my energy where I need to: taking care of myself so I can chase my dreams.
"If it gives me enough energy for one better shot a round or five more minutes that I can spend with my kids when I'm home then it's helped me. I was trying to hide the battle that I'm fighting and I was wasting a lot of energy on that."
Woodland says he was inspired to share his story by veterans - "they told me you can't do this on your own, you've got to talk" - and also thanked his wife, Gabby for her unwavering support. "There is no chance I could have done this without my wife, for sure. It's been hard on me but a lot harder on her. I love her to death."
'My game is better than it has ever been'
Now he can look forward to teeing it up at The Masters for the first time since 2024 and trying to better his previous best finish at Augusta National of tied-14th in 2023.
A share of 14th at last week's Valspar Championship marked a return to form after four missed cuts across his first six events of 2026 and victory in Houston has left him buoyant.
"My game is better than it has ever been. This is probably top to bottom as good as I've played. Obviously I had a great week there at Pebble Beach (in 2019) but I was just in complete control this week. I'm proud of that.
"The start of this year, those four weeks I played, I was in a dark place. Luckily, I had a week or two off and kind of reset a little bit.
"Then I decided to [go public with my struggles] and I got some confidence last week. It's about continuing that. I'm definitely in a better place than I was a month ago."
Woodland's final-round playing partners Nicolai Hojgaard and Min Woo Lee held back at 18, allowing the leader to walk out in front.
Hojgaard later said it was "appropriate" for the American to have his "pretty cool moment", revealing how happy he was for him.
"We play in an individual sport out here but I wasn't alone," said Woodland, as part of the moving address after his win was sealed.
The only way he was alone was in his position at the top of the leaderboard. Rewarded for not giving up, for keeping on fighting.
