PGA Tour golfer Gary Woodland has laid bare his struggles with PTSD after undergoing brain surgery.
Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2019, had an operation to remove a lesion in September 2023.
The American returned to the PGA Tour in 2024 and, despite playing regularly, said he was diagnosed with the condition about a year ago.
Woodland told Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard that the reason he decided to come forward was because he “couldn’t waste” any more energy hiding the condition.
“I’m blessed with a lot of support out here on the Tour,” Woodland said.
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“I appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I’m dying and I feel like I’m living a lie.”
Woodland recalled an incident during the Procore Championship in Napa last August.
The US Ryder Cup team used the event on the PGA Tour’s fall schedule to prepare for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Woodland, who was one of Keegan Bradley’s vice-captains for the biennial dust-up against Europe, was startled by a walking scorer.
It led to him suffering blurred vision and he wasn’t sure if he could continue.
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“It was my turn to hit and I couldn’t hit,” Woodland said. “Butch [his caddie] said, ‘Let’s go in.’
“I said, ‘No man, I’m here for these guys. I want to fight through this.'”
Woodland said his caddie gave him a pair of sunglasses to hide his the tears and he kept popping into bathrooms to cry.
“When I got done, I got in my car and got out of there,” he added.
“There are days when it’s tough—crying in the scoring trailer, running to my car just to hide it. I don’t want to live that way anymore.”
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Woodland said he has discussed his mental-health struggles with other PGA Tour members and he is hopeful he can inspire others.
He explained the PGA Tour have put extra protocols in place to help him during tournaments.
“I hope somebody that’s struggling sees me out here still fighting and battling and trying to live my dreams,” he said.
“I want to help people, too. I realise now I’ve got to help myself first and hopefully this is the first step in doing that.”
Woodland is a four-time PGA Tour winner.
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He has made five starts this season, making cuts at the American Express and WM Phoenix Open.
Woodland is in the 123-man field for this week’s Players Championship.
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