- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 410,266
- Reaction score
- 43
SAN ANTONIO — Sunday was a really good day for Gary Woodland. Tuesday was not.
Such is the life of a man still recovering from brain surgery.
Woodland, now famously, underwent a craniotomy on Sept. 19, 2023, after doctors discovered a lesion pressing on the part of the brain that controls fear and anxiety. The winner of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach has returned to competition and was given the PGA Tour's Courage Award ahead of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches earlier this year.
And the four-time PGA Tour winner had one of his best days in a long time last weekend, tying a course record with an 8-under 62 at Memorial Park Golf Course to finish at 19 under in the Houston Open and sharing the runner-up circle with Scottie Scheffler behind Min Woo Lee.
But Sunday was Sunday.
And on Monday, Woodland's caddie insisted he take the day off, even though the travel from Houston to San Antonio — where he's scheduled to play in this week's Valero Texas Open — is minimal. Both hoped that would lead to a productive Tuesday, but unfortunately, that wasn't how it worked out.
"I have fatigue," Woodland said on Wednesday at TPC San Antonio. "Yesterday I wasn't feeling good and I had to ... I told my caddie I've got to get out of here."
Netflix's Full Swing Season 3 featured Woodland in Episode 6 and documented his recovery process from surgery and some of the challenges and struggles he's faced. He admitted he finally felt at ease during the final round at Memorial Park, his best round on Tour since the 2018 CIMB Classic, when he shot 61 in the second round. Some of it is just relaxing and allowing things to fall into place.
"It was the first time really probably since the U.S. Open that I was in control, complete control. I was in control of my emotions, I was in control of my thoughts, and that's been a battle for me over the last couple years. It's one where I was able to slow everything down," Woodland said. "From a health standpoint, that's been extremely hard for me, so I put in a lot of work to try to feel better and I kind of saw all that come to fruition on Sunday there. It was the most control I've been in. I wasn't ahead of myself. I obviously saw the leaderboard, I saw what was going on. I found out on 17 that Min Woo hit it in the water, but I didn't let myself get ahead of the next shot. That's a nice place to be in.
"We all talk about trying to get in a flow out here and trying to stay in the moment, and we say it all the time but I was in it and I was living it. That's been a big difference for me out here. Especially when you look at the greats, the greats do it all the time. I was able to put myself in that position on Sunday and I haven't been able to do that."
Just because he hasn't won in six years, Woodland certainly has had his moments since the surgery, and he even opened the 2025 campaign with three straight top-25 finishes at the Sony Open, at Pebble Beach and in Scottsdale.
But as soon as things appeared to be falling in place, he lost his focus a bit, missing three straight cuts.
"I think the biggest hurdle for me is accepting where I'm at. The fact is I'm different than I was a couple years ago, I am. I've had an operation on my brain, I have scar tissue in there now, I still have part of the tumor in there," he said. "So accepting the fact that I'm different, that's hard for an athlete or for anybody to accept that I'm different than I was. Realizing that maybe that's not a bad thing. Because I'm different doesn't mean I'm damaged."
Of course, coming to grips with his new reality has been harder than any swing change or putting grip. The effort that goes into PGA Tour travel, combined with the immense pressure to perform in front of massive crowds, has zapped Woodland of much of his energy at times.
For example, he was clearly thrilled with the fan reaction he received in Houston, one he said made it feel like he was playing before his own hometown. But he knows he can't do what he used to do, at least in terms of stamina. And although it's not his nature, he's started to let others take a bigger role in his weekly activities.
Sometimes, that even means a little bit of well-intentioned deception.
"I need to rely on other people more. I can't do this by myself. It's hard for me to ask for help, it's hard for me to reach out, but my caddie's taken a bigger role the last couple weeks. He's pretty much doing everything and I'm just hitting golf shots now," Woodland said. "But realizing that it's OK to do that, it's OK to rely on other people, I don't have to do this all by myself out here
"I found out last week my caddie's trying to manage my energy levels, too. I found out he was dumping out half the bucket of balls on the range after the rounds last week so I wouldn't hit too many balls so I wouldn't practice too much."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour star Gary Woodland is still battling fatigue after brain surgery
Continue reading...
Such is the life of a man still recovering from brain surgery.
Woodland, now famously, underwent a craniotomy on Sept. 19, 2023, after doctors discovered a lesion pressing on the part of the brain that controls fear and anxiety. The winner of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach has returned to competition and was given the PGA Tour's Courage Award ahead of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches earlier this year.
And the four-time PGA Tour winner had one of his best days in a long time last weekend, tying a course record with an 8-under 62 at Memorial Park Golf Course to finish at 19 under in the Houston Open and sharing the runner-up circle with Scottie Scheffler behind Min Woo Lee.
But Sunday was Sunday.
And on Monday, Woodland's caddie insisted he take the day off, even though the travel from Houston to San Antonio — where he's scheduled to play in this week's Valero Texas Open — is minimal. Both hoped that would lead to a productive Tuesday, but unfortunately, that wasn't how it worked out.
"I have fatigue," Woodland said on Wednesday at TPC San Antonio. "Yesterday I wasn't feeling good and I had to ... I told my caddie I've got to get out of here."
Gary Woodland was featured on Full Swing 3
Netflix's Full Swing Season 3 featured Woodland in Episode 6 and documented his recovery process from surgery and some of the challenges and struggles he's faced. He admitted he finally felt at ease during the final round at Memorial Park, his best round on Tour since the 2018 CIMB Classic, when he shot 61 in the second round. Some of it is just relaxing and allowing things to fall into place.
"It was the first time really probably since the U.S. Open that I was in control, complete control. I was in control of my emotions, I was in control of my thoughts, and that's been a battle for me over the last couple years. It's one where I was able to slow everything down," Woodland said. "From a health standpoint, that's been extremely hard for me, so I put in a lot of work to try to feel better and I kind of saw all that come to fruition on Sunday there. It was the most control I've been in. I wasn't ahead of myself. I obviously saw the leaderboard, I saw what was going on. I found out on 17 that Min Woo hit it in the water, but I didn't let myself get ahead of the next shot. That's a nice place to be in.
"We all talk about trying to get in a flow out here and trying to stay in the moment, and we say it all the time but I was in it and I was living it. That's been a big difference for me out here. Especially when you look at the greats, the greats do it all the time. I was able to put myself in that position on Sunday and I haven't been able to do that."
You must be registered for see images attach
Up and down start to 2025 for Woodland
Just because he hasn't won in six years, Woodland certainly has had his moments since the surgery, and he even opened the 2025 campaign with three straight top-25 finishes at the Sony Open, at Pebble Beach and in Scottsdale.
But as soon as things appeared to be falling in place, he lost his focus a bit, missing three straight cuts.
"I think the biggest hurdle for me is accepting where I'm at. The fact is I'm different than I was a couple years ago, I am. I've had an operation on my brain, I have scar tissue in there now, I still have part of the tumor in there," he said. "So accepting the fact that I'm different, that's hard for an athlete or for anybody to accept that I'm different than I was. Realizing that maybe that's not a bad thing. Because I'm different doesn't mean I'm damaged."
Caddie was tricking Woodland into practicing less
Of course, coming to grips with his new reality has been harder than any swing change or putting grip. The effort that goes into PGA Tour travel, combined with the immense pressure to perform in front of massive crowds, has zapped Woodland of much of his energy at times.
For example, he was clearly thrilled with the fan reaction he received in Houston, one he said made it feel like he was playing before his own hometown. But he knows he can't do what he used to do, at least in terms of stamina. And although it's not his nature, he's started to let others take a bigger role in his weekly activities.
Sometimes, that even means a little bit of well-intentioned deception.
"I need to rely on other people more. I can't do this by myself. It's hard for me to ask for help, it's hard for me to reach out, but my caddie's taken a bigger role the last couple weeks. He's pretty much doing everything and I'm just hitting golf shots now," Woodland said. "But realizing that it's OK to do that, it's OK to rely on other people, I don't have to do this all by myself out here
"I found out last week my caddie's trying to manage my energy levels, too. I found out he was dumping out half the bucket of balls on the range after the rounds last week so I wouldn't hit too many balls so I wouldn't practice too much."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour star Gary Woodland is still battling fatigue after brain surgery
Continue reading...
