Gary Woodland is T3 in Las Vegas.
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On September 18, 2023, doctors cut a hole the size of a baseball in the side of Gary Woodland's skull. They removed the lesion from his brain. And when they take him back, they allow Woodland to begin a long journey: back to feeling like himself.
Thirteen months and one day later, Woodland gets there.
Returning to competitive golf is, of course, part of the equation. But the PGA Tour has been Woodland's home and workplace for a decade and a half, which means having fun here means having fun, period. Woodland had plenty of good Saturday in Las Vegas when he shot a bogey-free six-under 65 in the third round of the Shriners Children's Open; he is T3 heading into Sunday, just one shot behind the lead. While several players with Saturday's latest times have yet to complete their third rounds, one thing is certain: The Woodland will head into the final round with a chance to win for the first time since everything has changed.
The symptoms had started in early 2023, when Woodland couldn't shake a new, unsatisfying set of feelings. Fear and anxiety plagued his thoughts; his hands trembled and he often felt faint. An MRI ordered to rule out Parkinson's revealed a brain lesion instead. It was pushing his brain to show fear.
For four and a half months, she told the AP, she spent every day “thinking I was going to die,” she said. “It doesn't matter if I travel by car, by plane, I thought everything was going to kill me. You can imagine leading up to the surgery how I felt when I was decapitated and operated on. The fear of going into that was terrible. “
But the operation was successful. Gratitude replaced fear. And so began the road back.
Woodland started swinging the club five weeks later. He returned to competition in January. And he played almost a full series of tournaments in 2024. But the return was urgent and challenging; no step comes easily. While Woodland made 12 of 21 cuts on the PGA Tour regular season, he cracked the top 30 just twice and didn't post a single top 20 finish. That was understandable, of course. But for someone who used to be better, it was hard to swallow.
“Oh, it's all frustrating. Everything is,” he said after a promising first round at Sanderson Farms earlier this month. “When you play like this, it makes all that time worth it, though. We get it; it's a grind. I've been out of here for a while. There are many ups and downs. But when you come from where I've been and you start to see the signs, it's easier to stay positive.”
Woodland finished T16 at Sanderson, his best result of the year. There were signs – he was third on the PGA Tour in clubhead speed, for example, and fourteenth in driving distance, and his putt numbers looked good, and he knew he could hit the shot – but it was reassuring. put together a full tournament. Even better, he said, he was making progress in a very important area: he was finally starting to feel happy.
“It all comes together,” he said. “It's been a year now since I had surgery. Starting to feel a lot better, which helps. That helps everything. It helps to exercise, it helps you live a better life.”
Woodland said he may have rushed back earlier in the year and left “very early in the morning.” He didn't know how it would sound and he didn't know how that would change. Now, though?
“It just happened. It's been a change in the past few weeks, I'm starting to feel like myself again.
“I can see it. I am very happy. I feel better. I was able to [around more] to refresh. I can be close to my children when they go nuts now. Like, everything is starting to come back, which is good. “
Good golf followed. Woodland says he has been working hard with legendary trainer Randy Smith – who works with World No. Now he is seeing them in his second tournament in a row. Woodland held the good side of the Shriners draw and opened 66-68. Then came Saturday's 65, which moved him from T13 to T3. He is number 148 in the FedEx Cup and could use a boost.
“Everything is starting to come together,” he said emphatically. “I feel much better, for one thing. That alone. That's a big help. But I have seen the signs. I've been back with Randy for a few months now. I'm starting to drive it better, iron play, control the golf ball like I haven't hit it in a long time, which is good.
“Then the putts started coming in, they started making good scores.”
Woodland was relieved to finish his third round behind the tournament's opening schedule; you will enjoy a few extra hours on Sunday morning.
“I'm not too worried about what anyone else is doing right now. I focus on myself. I'm excited to start feeling better and seeing some positives in my game. And I'm excited to sleep tomorrow.”
One thing at a time.
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