Gary Woodland makes miraculous return at Genesis Invitational after brain tumor

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. Gary Woodland thought he was going to die.

Suddenly golf didnt matter as much as it used to.

Stress over how many birdies or bogeys he might make in a tournament round, where he would finish on the leaderboard, whether or not he was going to qualify for major championships, these were now afterthoughts.

Woodland, the affable 39-year-old from Kansas who counts the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach among his four career PGA Tour victories, underwent brain surgery Sept. 18, and now hes back on the PGA Tour playing alongside the best players in the world, doing something he never thought hed be able to do again.

To say its all been a bit overwhelming would be an understatement.

At 9:25 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, Woodland stood on the elevated first tee at Riviera Country Club perhaps the most beautiful first hole in golf alongside playing partners Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas, about to begin his fourth tournament since the surgery, the opening round of the Genesis Invitational.

Gary_Woodland_makes_miraculous_return_at_Genesis_Invitational_after_brain_tumor 3Gary Woodland tees off on the fourth hole during the first round of The Genesis Invitational on Feb. 15, 2024. Getty ImagesWoods, the tournament host, gave Woodland a special exemption into the field.

All Woodland did was go out and birdie the first three holes.

He finished 1-under par, besting both Woods and Thomas (1-over), but the number didnt matter much.

Not when, just five months ago, surgeons were cutting his head open to remove a benign tumor that was pressing against the part of the brain that controls fear, which was causing Woodland to have frightening nighttime seizures and panic attacks believing he was going to die.

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When I asked him after his round when he was most scared, Woodland said, Before or after the surgery?

Both.

I still have a daily reminder when I take anti-seizure medicine twice a day. I still get nervous. I will have little twitching going on. Most of my seizures were at night, so when I get into bed and if its just a little twitch, Im like, S–t, are we back in this thing again? Because they didnt get it all the tumor. It scares the s–t out of me.

That Woodland is back playing golf again this quickly is nothing short of miraculous. Its inspiring.

Hes played in three tournaments this season and hasnt made a cut yet. Woodland believes the overwhelming sense of emotion and gratitude he has for simple being back out here has distracted him a bit.

Gary_Woodland_makes_miraculous_return_at_Genesis_Invitational_after_brain_tumor 3Gary Woodland (R.) hugs Tiger Woods during the first round of The Genesis Invitational on Feb. 15, 2024. Getty ImagesPlaying in Woods group on Thursday, with swells of fans surrounding every tee box and green, snapped him out of that and honed his focus on the task at hand to the point where he called Thursday the best I played since he returned.

I think playing with Woods helped me, because it brought my focus in, Woodland said.

Woodland conceded he thought he was going to be able to jump right back into it once he recovered from surgery. It hasnt been that easy, though.

I struggled for a long time and figured out why I was struggling and what was going on, he said. I figured, OK, now Ill play great golf again. Its been a little bit harder than I thought, but its coming.

Woodland related some dark moments after he played the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Gary_Woodland_makes_miraculous_return_at_Genesis_Invitational_after_brain_tumor 3Gary Woodland made his golf return at The Genesis Invitational after a battle with a brain tumor. Getty ImagesI had a rough week, just wasnt there, didnt feel like myself again, which was frustrating, he said. When that happens, Ive got to get into a dark room. Really concussion protocol more than anything, turn the lights off, no noise, no overstimulation.

And you play with T.W., theres a lot of stimulation. So, I was very happy and pleased with today with everything going on that I was able to stay in it. It was definitely the best day I had all year.

A deserving day for Woodland, truly one of the good guys on the PGA Tour.

What Gary has gone through, I dont think people have really given it enough play, Woods said. We havent had enough conversation about what hes gone through and how difficult life was for Gary and how scary that was. To have a surgery and remove a tumor out of his brain and to come back and play the Tour thats an unbelievable story.

Rory McIlroy called Woodlands journey inspiring.

To see him come back to the other side of that and start to play again and get back out here is amazing, McIlroy told The Post. Its just great to see him back out here and doing what he loves.

McIlroy is not alone with those thoughts.

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