{"id":226320,"date":"2026-03-30T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/226320\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:52:09","slug":"gary-woodland-wins-houston-open-30-months-after-brain-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/226320\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Woodland wins Houston Open 30 months after brain surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2014 Gary Woodland won the Houston Open on Sunday, an emotional moment that seemed so improbable 30 months ago when he had brain surgery, and even two weeks ago when he opened up about his frightening struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Woodland looked better than ever at Memorial Park, taking a one-shot lead into the final round and stretching it to seven shots until coasting home to a trophy that felt as big as his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach in 2019.<\/p>\n

He closed with a 3-under 67 to win by five shots over Nicolai Hojgaard. The gallery paused chanting his name so Woodland could roll in a 5-foot par putt. He stretched both arms, exhaled and looked to the blue sky before his tears began pouring.<\/p>\n

Gary Woodland is greeted by his wife, Gabby Woodland, after winning the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open golf tournament. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play an individual sport out here, but I wasn\u2019t alone today,\u201d Woodland said, his voice quivering with emotion. \u201cAnyone struggling with something, I hope they see me and don\u2019t give up. Just keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodland has been a popular figure and powerful player since he left a two-sport college career and joined the PGA Tour. But he began to struggle in 2023, only to learn he had a lesion on the part of his brain that caused unfounded fears that he was dying.<\/p>\n

Surgery in September 2023, which involved a baseball-sized hole cut from the side of his head, removed much of the lesion. His return in January 2024 looked fine on the outside, particularly last year when he was runner-up at the Houston Open.<\/p>\n

But he was hurting badly with PTSD, once rushing to a portable bathroom to break down in tears when he was overcome with emotion. He chose two weeks ago to share his struggles in a Golf Channel interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I\u2019m dying, and I feel like I\u2019m living a lie,\u201d he said in the interview. \u201cI want to live my dreams and be successful out here. But I want to help people, too. I realize now I\u2019ve got to help myself first.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said this week going public made him feel \u201c1,000 pounds lighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

His physical strength sure didn\u2019t leave him. Woodland reached 196 mph ball speed on one tee shot Sunday, and more striking was the smooth control he showed over every shot.<\/p>\n

He finished at 21-under 259 for his first victory since the U.S. Open, and the fifth of his career. This one came with a big bonus \u2014 it makes him eligible for the Masters in two weeks.<\/p>\n

Gary Woodland wipes away tears after winning the Houston Open. Getty Images<\/p>\n

AP<\/p>\n

Hojgaard fell back with a double bogey on the par-5 seventh hole. He closed with a 71 and a consolation prize. He secured his position inside the top 50 in the world to secure his invitation to the Masters.<\/p>\n

Hojgaard and defending champion Min Woo Lee (67) chose to stay back on their way to the 18th green to give Woodland the stage to himself, a gesture rarely seen outside the majors. It spoke to Woodland\u2019s popularity in golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought it was appropriate to let him have his moment,\u201d Hojgaard said. \u201cIt was a pretty cool moment for Gary, and it was cool to see. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodland felt huge relief by sharing his PTSD struggles, and he had some technical help with his golf. He went to a new putter to help his alignment, and he consulted coach Randy Smith before going to stiffer shafts in his irons because his speed had returned and that helped him have better control of his shots.<\/p>\n

There was no chance of controlling his emotions, certainly over the last hour when the outcome was obvious and the 18th hole when it became reality.<\/p>\n

Gary Woodland won the Houston Open just 30 months after undergoing brain surgery. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

But he said it\u2019s still golf, and there\u2019s still a battle with his recovery from brain surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just another day. Today was a good day,\u201d Woodland said with a smile and a short laugh. \u201cBut I\u2019ve got a big fight ahead of me, and I\u2019m going to keep going. But I\u2019m proud of myself right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

His wife, Gabby, was with him all 18 holes with their three children at home. Woodland has said his wife was key to get him through surgery and what followed. \u201cThis has been hard on me. It\u2019s been a lot harder on her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The victory moves him just outside the top 50 in the world and makes him eligible for all the elite events on the rest of the PGA Tour schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Gary Woodland won the Houston Open on Sunday, an emotional moment that seemed so improbable 30…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[86550,5407,56,58,57,10518,154],"class_list":["post-226320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-gary-woodland","tag-golf","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-pga-tour","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}