All Gary Woodland could do was exhale and smile.
It has been a trying few years for the 2019 U.S. Open champion, who underwent brain surgery in 2023 to remove a tumor and has been battling PTSD in the years since the operation. During an interview with Golf Channel in March, Woodland unburdened himself as he detailed how difficult it has been for him to compete on the PGA Tour while dealing with PTSD. Woodland said that going public with his diagnosis felt like lifting “1,000 pounds off his back.” Two weeks later, he won the Texas Children’s Houston Open to lift his first trophy since that Father’s Day in 2019 at Pebble Beach.
“Anybody that is struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up,” a choked-up Woodland said moments after his final putt dropped in Houston.
“It’s just another day, right, that I’ve got to keep healing. Today was a good day. But I’m going to keep fighting. I’ve got a big fight ahead of me and I’m going to keep going, but I’m proud of myself right now.”
Sunday at the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club was another day for Woodland to be proud of how far he has come, and of the fight and determination he has shown to chase his dreams despite the daily battle he fights with PTSD.
Woodland entered the PGA Tour’s second FedEx Cup Playoff event on the outside of the top 30 looking in. Woodland hasn’t made it to East Lake since 2019 and needed a good week in St. Louis to snap that drought. He opened with rounds of 64 and 65 to jump into contention, but an even-par 70 on Saturday put him behind 54-hole leader Wyndham Clark heading into the final round. While Woodland hoped for a Sunday charge to catch Clark, what he really eyed was a final round where he could calm his nerves and play well enough to finish inside the top 30 and punch his ticket to East Lake.
Clark stumbled early on Sunday, and Woodland found himself one shot off the lead on the 9th hole. Then, he cold-topped his drive into the water and wound up making a double-bogey 6, which dropped him down the leaderboard. While Clark, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay battled for the trophy on the back nine with Clark eventually winning, Woodland focused on staying calm and in the moment and checking off another milestone in his comeback. He made eight straight pars to begin the back nine and then lost his drive on 18 well to the left. He sent his approach over the back of the green and then chipped to 10 feet. Woodland settled over the 10-foot par putt, knowing a make would extend his season for one more week. He rolled it right in the heart, and as his ball disappeared, Woodland gave a small fist pump, exhaled and looked to the sky as tears welled in his eyes.
“I don’t really have words right now,” an emotional Woodland told CBS’ Amanda Balionis on Sunday after jumping to No. 18 in the FedEx Cup standings. “It took a lot out there. I learned a lot from yesterday. Yesterday there was a lot of noise, a lot of energy, drones. I tried to block it all out and I just couldn’t do it. Today I tried to embrace it, tried to enjoy it. I’ve had a really good year. Through all of the hardships that I had, I’m proud of where I’m at and I just tried to enjoy it today.
“I’m really proud of myself.”
Woodland praised the St. Louis crowd for the energy they brought all week, but noted that the amplified atmosphere was difficult for him to navigate.
“Every time we’ve been here these fans have been absolutely amazing,” Woodland said. “But it was just a lot going on yesterday. There were drones over my head, and with where I’m at right now, when I hear that stuff, I got to back away and make sure that’s not a threat, and that’s a tough situation. I tried to block it out, and today I knew I couldn’t do that again. Today I tried to embrace it, tried to be proud of myself, tried to enjoy it. And I did a lot better job of that today.”
Woodland now has one win, six top-10s and eight top-25s on the season. He missed four of his first six cuts to start the year, but the interview with Golf Channel at the Players helped turn the tide. Next came the win in Houston, which was proof that Woodland could still chase his dreams while dealing with his new reality. The fact that he’s still playing this week in Atlanta says even more.
“I’m going to say it’s impressive from where I’ve been, for sure,” Woodland said. “There’s definitely weeks out here where I didn’t even think I would be here this week. To get to next week, I haven’t done it in six years, with everything I battled this year, I’m super proud of myself, I can tell you that.”
Asked what was going through his head when his closing par putt rolled into the center of the cup, Woodland offered a big smile, that of a man who fights a daily battle and does so because he refuses to give up on his dreams.
“That it’s over with,” Woodland said.
It was. But it will start again on Thursday in Atlanta. That’s another challenge Woodland will be ready to embrace.