Gary Woodland is T3 in Las Vegas.
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On September 18, 2023, doctors cut a hole the size of a baseball in the side of Gary Woodland’s skull. They removed a lesion from his brain. And when they hoisted him up, they allowed Woodland to begin a long journey: to feel like himself.
Thirteen months and a day later, Woodland is getting there.
Returning to competitive golf is, of course, only part of the equation. But the PGA Tour has been Woodland’s home and workplace for a decade and a half, which means feeling good here means feeling good, period. Woodland had a lot going for him Saturday in Las Vegas when he shot a bogey-free six-under 65 at the third round of the Shriners Children’s Open; he is T3 heading into Sunday, just one shot back of the lead. While some of Saturday’s late-rounders have yet to complete their third rounds, one thing is certain: Woodland will head into the final round with a chance to win for the first time since everything changed.
The symptoms had started earlier in 2023, when Woodland couldn’t shake a new, troubling set of feelings. Fear and anxiety occupied his thoughts; he had tremors in his hands and often felt low on energy. Instead, an MRI ordered to rule out Parkinson’s disease revealed the brain lesion. It was pushing on a tract of his brain that signals fear.
For four and a half months, he told the APhe had spent every day “thinking I was going to die”, he said. “It didn’t matter if I was driving a car, in a plane, I thought everything was going to kill me. You can imagine how I felt before the operation, after opening the head and operating. The fear of going into it was terrible.”
But the operation was successful. Gratitude replaced fear. And so began the road back.
Woodland started swinging a club after five weeks. He returned to competition in January. And has played almost a full slate of tours in 2024. But the comeback was rushed and challenging; no step has come easily. While Woodland made 12 of 21 cuts in the PGA Tour regular season, he cracked the top 30 just twice and didn’t post a single top 20. That was understandable, of course. But for someone who is used to better, it was hard to swallow.
“Oh, it’s all frustrating. It’s everything,” he said after a promising first round at Sanderson Farms earlier this month. “When you play like that, though, it’s all worth it. We get it; it’s a grind. I’ve been out here for a long time. There’s a lot of ups and downs. But when you come from where I’ve been and you’re starting to see signs, it’s been a little easier to stay positive.”
Woodland finished T16 at Sanderson, his best finish of the year. There were signs — he was still third on the PGA Tour in club speed, for example, and fourteenth in driving distance, and his approach game numbers looked good, and he knew he could hit shots — but it was reassuring to organize a full tour together. Even better, he said he was making progress in the most important area: he was finally starting to feel better.
“It’s just all coming together,” he said. “I have spent more than a year since the operation. You start to feel a lot better, which helps. This helps everything. It helps practice, it helps you live life better.”
Woodland said he probably rushed his comeback earlier in the year and came out “a little too early.” He didn’t know how he would feel and he didn’t know how he would change. But now?
“It was recently. It’s just been a change in the last couple of weeks, starting to feel more like myself again.
“I see it. I am happier. I feel better. I was able to be (about more) stimulation. I can be there for my kids when they are crazy now. Like, everything is just starting to come back, which is nice.”
Good golf has followed. Woodland says he’s been working hard with renowned trainer Randy Smith — who works with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, to name one — and that he’s seen the fruits of that labor at home. Now he’s seeing them on his second straight tour. Woodland grabbed the good side of the Shriners tie and opened 66-68. Then came Saturday’s 65, which took him from T13 to T3. He’s No. 148 in the FedEx Cup and could use a boost.
“It’s all starting to come together,” he repeated. “I feel a lot better, for one. This is one. This is a great help. But I have seen some signs. I’ve been back with Randy for a few months now. I’m starting to drive better, iron, control the golf ball like I haven’t in a long time, which is good.
“Then the shots start coming in, you start scoring some good runs.”
Woodland was relieved to have completed his third round after a start-stop tour schedule; he will enjoy a few extra hours on Sunday morning.
“I’m not too worried about what anybody else is doing right now. I am focused on myself. I’m excited to start feeling better and seeing big things in my game. And excited to sleep tomorrow.”
One thing at a time.
