‘I’ve got 1,000 pounds off my back:’ Gary Woodland freed after PTSD revelations
Gary Woodland is young now. Better golf followed, and it’s showing itself this week in Houston.
Two weeks ago at the Players Championship, Woodland opened up in an emotional interview with Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard, where the 2019 US Open champion revealed he was diagnosed with PTSD following a brain tumor removal procedure in 2023. Woodland said doctors told him that “in an ideal world,” he would not compete on the PGA Tour.
“My answer was, in an ideal world, I don’t have this. This is my dream and this is what I’m going to do, and no matter how hard it is, I’m going to play,” Woodland told Hoggard. “I want to live my dreams and I want to succeed here, but I want to help people, but I realize now I have to help myself first.”
Woodland missed four of his first six starts in 2026, but posted a T14 at last week’s Valspar Championship and arrived at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, the place where he finished T2 last year, feeling better about the daily battle he faces and his dream of competing and winning again on the PGA Tour.
On Thursday, Woodland’s improved play continued as he opened with a 64 to put himself in early contention at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
“I feel like I got a thousand pounds off my back that day,” Woodland said Thursday about revealing her PTSD diagnosis. “It was hard to do. I was crying going into the interview, and I left feeling a thousand pounds lighter. I have a battle to fight, but it’s nice not to be doing it alone, I can tell you that. We’re going to take it one day at a time and keep getting better. But the Tour out here is a family and it’s been amazing. The world of golf has been amazing and I’m thankful.”
Woodland’s PTSD revealed to be a major key to his recent transformation on the course. He feels relieved, like he doesn’t have to hide what he’s going through. But while that opening decision is the clear motivation for Gary Woodland’s change, it’s not the only piece of the puzzle. This is the one that helped bring it all together.
A year and a half ago, Woodland returned to his coach, Randy Smith, and made some changes to his swing that led him on the PGA Tour in driving distance.
“He called me very good, he told me I was directing it, and that’s not the way I’ve played my whole life,” Woodland said of Smith. “He wanted me to return to swinging with strength and to be aggressive again, to play with my strength. It was a process to get there, but we are starting to swing like I used to.”
While Woodland has blown everyone away on the PGA Tour, his iron game has not matched his long distance. But Woodland made a shaft change at Valspar last week, switching to shafts from 2015-2019, and they’re already paying dividends.
“It’s the stick I played all of ’18, ’19, I think ’15, ’16, ’17. I played it for a long time,” Woodland said. “I changed it last year because my speed had decreased and I was trying to find something that would forgive me, my speed and put them back among those kids and it was fun.”
Woodland followed his first-round 64 with a 7-under 63 to enter the weekend at 13-under, holding a three-way lead over Nicolai Hojgaard and Jackson Suber.
Woodland knows a lot is possible over 36 holes. But on a golf course that allows him to be aggressive in front of a crowd hoping for a win, it’s all in front of Gary Woodland who is released this weekend in Houston.
“There’s no doubt, and I’m proud of that,” Woodland said of the Houston crowd. “This, like any week, I feel like I’ve had a lot of support. It feels like I’m playing at home. The fans have been amazing. I need that energy to get me through the day, that really helps. That’s something I hope I can ride into this weekend.”
As for what it would mean if he was the one to lift the trophy on Sunday, Woodland wouldn’t allow himself to go that far in the future. Like every day, you take it one step at a time.
“I’m proud of the way I played,” said Woodland. “Like I said, 36 holes, keep doing what I’ve been doing and we’ll see where we end up.”
