Gary Woodland breaks down in tears after overcoming crippling PTSD for first PGA Tour win in seven years

Gary Woodland let all the emotions out after he won his first PGA Tour event since undergoing brain surgery.

The 41-year-old finished top of the pile at the Houston Open with a final score of -21, finishing five strokes clear of nearest rival Nicolai Hojgaard.

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Woodland’s win in Houston was his fifth on the PGA Tour and his first in seven years, with the result securing him an invite to The Masters in April.

The American’s triumph also landed him a tidy pay day of $1.782million (£1.356m), but the tears that rolled down his face in the post-match interview proved Sunday’s heroics were worth far more than any winner’s cheque.

Woodland: ‘I’m going to keep fighting’

“We play an individual sport, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland said.

“I’ve got a lot of people behind me. My team, my family… anyone that’s struggling with something I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting.

“It’s just another day that I’ve got to… today was a good day.

“I’m going to keep fighting, I’ve got a big fight ahead of me. I’m going to keep going but I’m proud of myself right now.”

Out of the Woods

Woodland held a slender one-stroke lead over Hojgaard going into the final day, but a capitulation from the Dane ruined his hopes of victory.

A bogey on the first and double-bogey on the seventh left Hojgaard’s last round in tatters.

As for Woodland, he plodded on and produced four birdies on the front nine to leave himself at four-under for the day.

Although he bogeyed the 14th, Woodland had already built up a healthy lead that Hojgaard simply couldn’t chase.

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Woodland’s victory was sealed with a tidy up and down from the back of the green to finish with a par to secure an emotional victory.

Woodland’s health ordeal laid bare

The 41-year-old took a break from golf in 2023 as he underwent surgery to remove a lesion on his brain.

The lesion had been pressing on the part of Woodland’s brain which controls anxiety.

It meant Woodland was constantly experiencing fears of dying coupled with sudden jolts, chills and tremors.

Such was Woodland’s worry he wouldn’t make it out of surgery, he penned individual letters to family members.

Thankfully the surgery was successful and he made a return to the fairways in 2024.

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‘Don’t want to live that way’

Even though Woodland successfully completed surgery, the effects proved to be long-lasting and he bravely revealed in March he’d been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In an interview on the Golf Channel, Woodland said he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2025 and continues to battle with his mental health.

During the chat, Woodland recounted a moment during the FedEXCup Fall when he was hypervigilant, a trait often associated with PTSD.

“A walking scorer startled me, got close to me from behind,” Woodland said.

“I pulled my caddie and said, ‘You can’t let anybody get behind me.’

“Next thing you know, I couldn’t remember what I was doing. My eyesight started to get blurry.”

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Although Woodland finished his round at the event, the emotional toll lingered long afterwards.

“I went into every bathroom to cry the rest of the day,” Woodland said.

“When I got done, I got in my car and got out of there.

“There are days when it’s tough – crying in the scoring trailer, running to my car just to hide it. I don’t want to live that way anymore.”