Gary Woodland completes incredible comeback story, wins on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2019
Gary Woodland made his final putt at Memorial Park Golf Course on Sunday, looked up at the sky, and let everything out. His wife Gabby ran onto the course. The tears came immediately. A five-shot win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. His first Tour victory in seven years. One of the more remarkable comebacks golf has seen in a long time.
Gary Woodland wins the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open
“Everybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting.”
The context behind that statement is important and worth knowing if you have not followed Woodland’s story.
In 2023 Woodland started experiencing symptoms that terrified him and the people around him. He was constantly losing his appetite. His hands shook. He had chills. The worst part was the fear and anxiety he could not escape regardless of what he did. He was jolted awake every night with the same recurring nightmare that he was falling and going to die. He started having small seizures in his sleep.
In September 2023, Gary Woodland underwent surgery to remove part of a lesion from his brain. He said the fear was gone immediately after the procedure. He returned to Tour months later and tried to rebuild what had been one of the better careers in professional golf. He won the 2019 US Open. He was a legitimate major champion. That person was still in there somewhere.
Then ahead of The Players Championship this year, Woodland disclosed that he had been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of the brain surgery.
The symptoms were still showing up on the course. At the Procore Championship in Napa last fall, a walking scorer kept coming up behind him and startling him. He struggled to remember what he was doing mid-round. His caddie at one point tried to get him to withdraw. Woodland refused and finished the day.
Fast forward to 2026 on a Sunday in Houston, Gary Woodland finished the tournament five shots clear of the field.
Shoutout Min Woo Lee for recognizing the moment. Incredible.
Brain surgery. PTSD. Seizures. Seven years without a win. And then a dominant victory where the only thing that came after the final putt was his wife running toward him and a man who had every reason to quit crying in front of everyone watching on NBC.
Gary Woodland is the best story in golf right now and it is not particularly close.
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