During the Friday round of his Texas Children’s Open victory last month that secured his Masters spot, Gary Woodland’s PTSD activated when some fans “got close to me.”
The 41-year-old has suffered from the mental health condition since undergoing brain surgery in 2023, and that bout had him believing his life was in jeopardy.
“I got hyper-vigilant on the ninth hole, and I battled the last 10 holes thinking people were trying to kill me. I have security with me,” Woodland, who won the 2019 US Open, said Tuesday. “The Tour’s been amazing.”
Woodland complimented both his personal security unit and the PGA Tour for the efforts, and said Tuesday they will be helpful during the four-day competition at Augusta National in Georgia.
“I’ll have, just like on tour, I’ll have security with me. The main deal is they were showing me where security is. The whole deal for me is it’s visual, right? If I can see somebody, then I can remind myself that I’m safe constantly,” Woodland said two days before the event.
“So, I have a good idea now where security is on every hole. The big deal for me, my caddie knows too. So he can constantly remind me. … I don’t have control when this thing hits me, and it’s tough. It can be a fan. It can be a walking score. It can be a camera guy running by me, just any startlement from behind me can trigger this pretty quickly. Knowing where the security is is a constant reminder that I’m safe.”
Woodland revealed earlier this year that he’s been battling PTSD for three years, finally revealing his plight to help encourage others.
He underwent surgery in 2023 to remove a brain lesion.
Woodland detailed to Golf Channel during the FedEx Cup last year when a fan got close to him while walking and he asked his caddie to make sure no one else got that close again.
He then “couldn’t hit.”
“(Caddie Brennan Little) said, ‘Let’s go in.’ I said, ‘No man, I’m here for these guys. I want to fight through this,’” Woodland said in the interview. “I went into every bathroom to cry the rest of the day. 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.”
A similar incident unfolded in the Texas Children’s Open in March that shook him.
Woodland persevered to win the event and claim a spot in the Masters after missing the event the last two years
“I’ll tell you this, if it wasn’t for Tour security, and my security, Zach, this week this week, there’s no way I’m sitting here right now. I was a wreck the last 10 holes of that day,” Woodland said. “I got into scoring, Zach got close to me. Tour security was visual so I saw them, calmed me down, I got in scoring, I balled my eyes out. I reset and was able to come back out and take care of stuff afterwards.”
His long journey to return to golf’s premier event has Woodland thankful.
“I love this place. I love the tradition,” he said. “There’s nothing like driving down Magnolia Lane.
“I definitely drove down a little slower this year than I ever have, even the first time I was here in 2011. I’m definitely taking it all in this week, for sure.”
