Gary Woodland credited his wife, Gabby, after winning Houston Open — his first PGA Tour win since undergoing brain surgery and being diagnosed with PTSD
When Gary Woodland sank his final putt at Memorial Park Golf Course on Sunday, he didn’t pump his fist or shout in celebration. Instead, he stretched out his arms, looked up to the sky and exhaled — tears filling his eyes.
The moment marked far more than a golf victory. It was the culmination of a grueling journey through brain surgery, a PTSD diagnosis and a very public fight to reclaim his life and career. Woodland won the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Sunday, March 29, finishing five shots ahead of runner-up Nicolai Højgaard. It was his first PGA Tour win since the 2019 U.S. Open — and it punched his ticket to the Masters in two weeks. After sinking his final putt at hole 18, Woodland hugged his caddie before embracing his wife, Gabby, on the green. “We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland said after the win. “I’ve got a lot of people behind me, my team, my family, in this golf world.”Woodland was quick to credit the people who helped carry him through the darkest moments — especially his wife, Gabby, and his support team. “Thank you,” he said of his wife and family. “I wouldn’t be anywhere before this without them. There’s no chance I could do this without Gabby, for sure. This has been hard on me, this has been a lot harder on her. I love her to death.” On the course, Woodland’s performance backed up the emotion. He shot a final-round 3-under 67, starting the day with a one-shot lead and pushing it to six strokes by the turn before cruising to the five-shot victory. With the Masters now on the horizon, Woodland heads to Augusta not just as a tournament champion — but as someone who refused to give up when everything seemed stacked against him.Woodland’s road back to the winner’s circle began in the darkest chapter of his life. In 2023, he started experiencing a cascade of serious health issues — loss of appetite, shaky hands, chills, severe anxiety, recurring nightmares and small seizures during sleep. In September of that year, he underwent brain surgery to remove part of a lesion from his brain. Woodland said the fear and anxiety he had been experiencing disappeared immediately after the procedure. But the ordeal was far from over. He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the brain surgery itself. His PTSD symptoms included hypervigilance, difficulty concentrating and emotional breakdowns — even during tournament rounds. Just a few weeks before his Houston Open victory, Woodland opened up about his PTSD diagnosis in an interview with The Golf Channel. He said going public with his struggles helped him feel “1,000 pounds lighter.”Woodland made a deliberate choice to talk openly about his PTSD, saying he wanted to help others and to stop wasting energy hiding what he was going through. “Everybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting,” he said after the win. His message on Sunday was one of honesty about the road ahead. He acknowledged that his recovery is ongoing and that one victory doesn’t mean the fight is over. “It’s just another day, right, that I’ve got to keep healing,” he said. “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.”
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