Gary Woodland is finally opening up about his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition so severe that he’s found himself in tears in the middle of fairways during tournaments.
In an emotional interview with Golf Channel at The Players Championship, Woodland revealed he can no longer hide the difficulty of his recovery journey.
“I can’t waste energy anymore hiding this, and I’m blessed with a lot of support out here on the tour,” Woodland said. “Everyone’s just been amazing. Every week I come out and everyone’s so excited and happy that I’m back. … And I appreciate that love and support.
“But inside, I feel like I’m dying, and I feel like I’m living a lie.”
Woodland shared a troubling incident from the Procore Championship last September, when he was triggered by a walking scorer who approached too closely behind him.
“It was my turn to hit and I couldn’t hit,” Woodland said.
His caddie gave him sunglasses to hide his tears, and Woodland admitted he would often retreat to bathrooms to cry. After finishing that round, he went straight to his car and left.
Woodland’s struggles stem from brain surgery he underwent in September 2023 to remove a lesion that caused unfounded feelings of fear that he was dying. By sharing his diagnosis, he hopes to reach others dealing with PTSD.
“I’ve talked to veterans, and one thing I’ve heard from multiple people is you can’t do this on your own, no matter how strong you think you are,” he said. “I have a lot of fight in me and I’m not going to let this thing win. But it’s been hard.”
The former U.S. Open champion is taking a significant step in his recovery by speaking publicly about his condition.
“I want to live my dreams and be successful out here,” Woodland said. “But I want to help people, too. I realize now I’ve got to help myself first — and hopefully this is the first step in doing that.”
The island and the drop zone
Tommy Fleetwood approaches The Players Championship like most tournaments, practicing chips and putts to various pins and testing how the ball reacts from the rough. But he’s among the few players who will actually practice a shot from the drop zone on the island-green 17th hole.
It’s considered taboo by many players who don’t want to practice a shot they have no intention of hitting.
“Of course I’m not planning on hitting it in the water,” Fleetwood said. “But at the same time, the hole has enough mental challenges that if you do hit it in the water, you just want to be prepared.”
More than 1,000 balls have missed the island on the notorious par 3 since the PGA Tour began tracking shots with its ShotLink technology. Sometimes the best play after finding the water is simply to re-tee on the hole that measures 141 yards.
The drop zone sits about 80 yards from the green, depending on the pin position. It’s not always an easier shot. Is it worth practicing?
“No,” former Players champion Justin Leonard said without hesitation. “And if a caddie ever let you see him shooting the pin, he should be fired.”
It’s largely psychological—players don’t want to imagine being in that position. When Tiger Woods first played Oakmont in a practice round in 2007, guests wanted him to try a shot from the church pew bunkers. Woods laughed and declined.
Collin Morikawa believes practicing from drop zones could tempt players to attempt shots they might not execute when it actually matters.
“When you’re hitting from the drop zone, unfortunately you’re probably just going to make 5,” he said. “You’re not trying to do anything fancy because that’s when it starts to add up. You’ve hit it in the water, try to get cute to a front pin or a back left pin and you’re in the water again.”
JT the meteorologist
When it comes to weather, Justin Thomas is leaving nothing to chance.
Rain is in the forecast for the first and final rounds of The Players Championship. Thomas was asked how much attention he pays to the forecast, and he answered by pulling out his phone.
“I have six weather apps,” he said while scrolling through his home screen. “The Weather Channel app is just kind of my standard weather app, but The Weather Bug is my optimistic weather app. I’m a huge weather optimist.”
For players, the key weather factor isn’t so much precipitation but wind direction, which can completely transform how a course plays.
And for a fashion-conscious player like Thomas, weather apps serve another purpose.
“I will look at the weather probably in advance more so for packing purposes,” he said.
Rory’s redux
Rory McIlroy visited Augusta National late last year without his clubs, mainly to work on a documentary set to release March 30 on Prime. The trip gave him a chance to see the champions locker room (he’s sharing with Raymond Floyd and the late Ben Hogan) and relive some memories.
He played the course for the first time a few weeks ago with his father and club chairman Fred Ridley, and attempted to replicate his famous 7-iron that he curved around a tree and over water to about 6 feet on the par-5 15th during a previous Masters.
This time, the result was even better.
“I nearly pitched it in the hole. It was actually a better shot than I hit in the tournament. It was actually unbelievable, I wish I could have got it on camera,” McIlroy said. “Just sort of went to the back edge of the green.”
That he used 7-iron again is noteworthy since Augusta National typically plays softer and longer in March than during Masters week.
“I’m a little stronger this year. I’ve put in a bit of work in the gym,” McIlroy said with a grin.
This was just one day before he withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational after tweaking his back during a gym session.
Divots
Champions Golf Club in Houston has been awarded the 2029 U.S. Senior Women’s Open and the 2040 U.S. Senior Open, along with the 2034 U.S. Mid-Amateur. It last hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in December 2020. The last time Champions held a premier men’s event was the 2003 Tour Championship.
The Standard Portland Classic on the LPGA is offering exemptions to the winners of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the British Women’s Amateur and the NCAA champion. It’s the first time winners of all these events will be invited to the same LPGA tournament.
Scottie Scheffler tied for 24th at Bay Hill and surpassed eight-time winner Tiger Woods on the Arnold Palmer Invitational’s all-time money list.
Stat of the week
Jordan Spieth shared the 54-hole lead and tied for fourth in his debut at The Players Championship in 2014. He hasn’t finished higher than a tie for 19th since then.
Final word
“Just never been thanked for playing an event before.” — Brooks Koepka, whose LIV Golf contract stipulates that two players are added to the field at tournaments he plays.
