To the outside world, Gary Woodland’s return from brain surgery was a story of triumph. But behind the smiles and the PGA Tour Courage Award, the 2019 U.S. Open champ was living a private hell. In a Golf Channel interview with Rex Hoggard, Woodland confessed he’s still battling PTSD from that dreadful surgery.

“Everyone’s just been amazing,” a tearful Woodland began. “Every week I come out, and everyone’s so excited and happy that I’m back. I hear that every week—it’s so nice to see you past this; it’s so nice to see you 100 percent—and I appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I’m dying, and I feel like I’m living a lie.”

Woodland got his official PTSD diagnosis about a year ago, but the mental and emotional baggage from his brain surgery in 2023 still affects him today. The surgeons had, after all, cut a baseball-sized hole in his brain. But even before that, he battled anxiety and stress, waking up in the middle of the night with the fear of looming death. It must not have been easy to fight against.

The surgery kicked off a long recovery for the pro, who wasted no time jumping back into Tour action in January 2024. Of course, soon after, he was awarded great honors, including Hall of Fame induction. But Woodland has stayed honest about this traumatic experience, once saying he felt like “a zombie.”

Woodland also revealed, “When I got done, I got in my car and got out of there. 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.”

Woodland gutted 10 tournaments amid the symptoms, eight on meds, and seven post-diagnosis, and remarkably, made eight cuts. But that summer of fear and pills led to the inevitable surgery. They couldn’t remove it all (with risks to left-side vision and mobility), yet it succeeded elsewhere. The tumor was now benign, and his fears of death had all but vanished.

But Woodland still wrote a letter to his family before the surgery, in case he didn’t survive the battle.

His wife, Gabby, gave the go-ahead to turn their dining room into a putting green. Woodland was sinking putts just two days post-surgery. It was for an hour, maximum. Five weeks in, he started swinging again; Dad drove him to the course, reminding him of his teen years when his dad used to drive him for baseball, basketball, and golf.

The 2019 U.S. Open champ said during his 2025 PNC debut, “I’m still healing, right?”

In the same interview, he disclosed that while the doctors and surgeons are satisfied with the outcome, there is still a significant journey ahead. Several pros have appreciated Woodland’s journey and his struggles, including Justin Thomas. Meanwhile, this battle has increased attention on him, with fans showering him with love.

But despite all this despair, Woodland is still pretty forward-looking.

The long journey Gary Woodland has decided for himself, and a bit more

“I hope somebody who’s struggling sees me out here still fighting and battling and trying to live my dreams,” Gary Woodland said during the interview. “This is my dream. I have a lot of fight in me, and I’m not going to let this thing win. But it’s been hard.”

Part of the reason he’s back on the PGA Tour and seriously never considered dropping golf is because of his love for the sport. He is scared of everything. He’s still battling in a world increasingly obsessed with moving forward, but he is not scared enough to leave golf behind.

Golf remains central to who he is. Therefore, his current actions demonstrate his strength. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. This season, he has played in 5 events and made the cut in only two, The American Express (72) and the WM Phoenix Open (T64). However, he finished 90th in the FedEx Cup Fall, which is surprising enough.

But there are positive signs as well. Woodland is currently leading the tour in driving distance, nearly a full yard over the second-longest, Michael Brennan. Woodland’s booming 327.7-yard average off the tee in 2026 marks a 17-yard jump over the past four seasons and over 20 yards from earlier years.

It’s pretty impressive for a guy on the wrong side of 40.