Gary Woodland details 'hardest year' in comeback from brain surgery

HONOLULU – Gary Woodland calls last year the hardest one of his life. Four months after undergoing brain surgery in September 2023, he returned to the PGA Tour here at Waialae Country Club at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

“It was like I was a rookie again,” he said on Wednesday during his pre-tournament press conference. “Everything was new, and it was hard.”

Last year was the great unknown. He was grateful to be playing but the reality was hard to ignore: he had come back too early and wasn’t physically ready to play. Add in the emotional toll of returning to places where he had pulled his car off the road the year before and called his wife crying with fear that he was going to die and it’s understandable that his comeback had its fits and starts. There were times he stayed at the same hotel where he had previously experienced multiple seizures. And, perhaps worst of all, he struggled to play with his four kids.

“My brain couldn't keep up. My poor wife has to explain to my kids why Dad has to go to the room because too much energy and excitement,” Woodland explained. “So I couldn't be the father I wanted to be.”

He hit rock bottom after the third round of the 3M Open in July, his third tournament in a row, calling his wife, Gabby, and saying, “I think I'm dying again; it's all back.”

Woodland has been open about his struggles and the support from the golf world has been uplifting. He’s also leaning into the impact and inspiration his story has made on others dealing with similar health challenges.

“I've had grown men come up to me crying that they've been battling brain tumors or battling stuff, and seeing me out here playing again gives them hope,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to have a positive impact in this world. I'd like to have a positive impact on myself playing golf, and I'd like to have a positive impact on my family.”

Woodland made 26 starts last season but only finished in the top 25 three times. He said he felt as though he was trying to catch lightning in a bottle but he also realized that if he hadn’t played, he wouldn’t be where he is right now. For starters, he resumed working with noted instructor Randy Smith, who Woodland called “a father figure in my life,” and he’s seen signs that his game has turned the corner. Woodland said he's going to be taking medication indefinitely but thanks to his team of doctors, he’s learned to slow down his heart rate and his thoughts through a series of breathing exercises both in the morning and evening, which take about an hour. Yoga, meditation and chanting are part of his routine too.

“I know what it takes now for me to feel well,” he said. “I know what I have to do if I'm going to play multiple weeks in a row. I know the work I have to put in to get myself in that situation. I wouldn't have known that if I didn't go through what I went through last year.”

Woodland is in the final year of his exemption for winning the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and with changes that go into effect in 2026 that reduce the number of available fully-exempt cards, he’ll need to finish in the top 100 — not the top 125 — to remain exempt on Tour next season. But the 40-year-old four-time champion is ready to start his new season on Thursday with renewed purpose and renewed hope.

“I'm as optimistic now about my future as I have been in years,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2025-sony-open-gary-woodland-hardest-year-brain-surgery