Gary Woodland is looking forward to the new season—and those feelings might have intensified after the Sony Open in Hawaii.
It was exactly one year ago at Waialae Country Club that Woodland returned to the PGA Tour, four months after undergoing surgery on a brain lesion.
Now, 12 months later, the 40-year-old had a strong season debut, finishing T16 at 11 under, five shots off the lead, for his best finish outside of the PGA Tour fall season (he had a T9 in October’s Shriners Open) since returning.
That result might not jump off the page, especially for a major champion, even though just playing on Tour again after a brain tumor is a grand accomplishment. But considering how last year went, it’s a step in the right direction.
“Last year was one of the hardest years of my life from the standpoint everything was new,” Woodland said in his pre-tournament press conference Wednesday. “I was very thankful to be back in this seat last year less than four months from surgery, but everything was new. It was like I was a rookie again. I didn’t know what to expect.”
It was an adjustment off the golf course, too.
“There were days waking up I didn’t know if I was going to feel good,” he said. “I didn’t know how I was going to be, going back to places where the year before—talk about PTSD, I’m driving through places where I pulled over there and had to call my wife crying because I thought I was going to die. I come back to a hotel, I’m like, ‘I had multiple seizures in this bed.’ Everything was new, and it was hard.”
Even being with his family was difficult.
“My brain couldn’t keep up,” he said. “My poor wife has to explain to my kids why Dad has to go to the room because too much energy and excitement—my kids are full of life and Daddy can’t handle that. So I couldn’t be the father I wanted to be.”
A turning point, however, happened the week of August’s 3M Open, which Woodland calls “rock bottom.”
“Saturday of 3M I left the golf course in tears, called my wife and I said, ‘I think I’m dying again; it’s all back,’” Woodland said.
But doctors assured him that everything was normal, and he began to take steps to calm his brain. He currently does breathing work twice a day, along with yoga and meditation to slow down his amygdala.
“That was over 150 days ago,” the Kansas native said, “and I’m starting to see signs, and it’s been exciting.”
Even before his result in Hawaii, Woodland is as bullish as ever about his game.
“I’m as optimistic about my golf game as I’ve been since I won the U.S. Open in 2019,” the world No. 204 said.
But after all he’s endured, Woodland is more than just a golfer.
“I have an opportunity to leave this world a better place than I found it, than when I came into it,” he said, “and I’ve realized that in the last year and a half. I’m trying to do everything I can to give back to people that are struggling because if you're ever feeling alone in that moment, it sucks, and it's hard.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gary Woodland Has Strong Sony Open After Thinking He Was ‘Dying Again’ Last Year .