Gary Woodland Reveals PTSD After Brain Surgery

Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, revealed in an emotional interview this week that he has been living with posttraumatic stress disorder since undergoing brain surgery nearly two years ago, a condition that has left him battling severe anxiety on and off the golf course. The 41-year-old from Kansas shared his story with Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard ahead of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where he is set to compete Thursday. Woodland, who returned to the PGA Tour last year after the procedure, said the diagnosis came about a year ago, marking a turning point in his recovery from a lesion on his brain that caused seizures and intense feelings of fear.

The surgery in September 2023 removed part of the lesion, but Woodland described ongoing symptoms including hypervigilance and blurred vision during high-stress moments. He chose to speak publicly now, he said, to stop expending energy on concealment. "I can't waste energy anymore hiding this," Woodland told Hoggard, his voice breaking at times. "I'm blessed with a lot of support out here on the Tour. Everyone's just been amazing. Every week I come out, and everyone's so excited and...