00:00Gary Woodland, the journey he's taken to get to this win, to be the 2026 winner of the Texas Children's
00:06Houston Open, and to just give a brief timeline of sorts for those who aren't super familiar with Gary's story.
00:12So his last win professionally was the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach. And since then, he's been through a
00:18health journey that sounds just about as terrifying as it could possibly get.
00:23So he had surgery in September 2023 for a lesion in part of his brain that controls fear and anxiety.
00:31So imagine every day being governed by thoughts that you might die. Like I read examples that he'd be flying
00:37on a plane, he'd be worried that an overhead bin would open up, he'd get crushed by a piece of
00:41luggage.
00:41So like, imagine that applied over and over again to everything in Gary Woodland's life, all while carrying the stress
00:48of playing professional golf, like to make his living and support his family.
00:52And so then he has that surgery, we all rightfully celebrated his return to professional golf. But that is not
00:58where the story ends. Because just a few weeks ago, during Players Week, Golf Channel aired an interview with the
01:04Rex Hoggard hosted with Gary Woodland,
01:06detailing the PTSD that he'd been diagnosed with and he'd experienced since that surgery. Another example from that getting startled
01:13when a walking scorer got close to too close to him walking behind him and telling his caddy,
01:18hey, you need to make sure no one walks up behind me, bawling his eyes out between holes while trying
01:24to play. And his doctors as part of this post, you know, surgery recovery said, hey, probably stay out of
01:29high stress environments, like playing professional golf.
01:32But Gary said, you know, look, it's important to me as part of my recovery to take on this challenge
01:36from this neurological trauma. And he's done just that. And now here he is, the champion of this week's event,
01:43the 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open.
01:46I just want to start with how popular is this win going to be on tour, Smiley? Because it feels
01:50like everybody was rooting for this guy.
01:52Well, he's just one of the best guys on the PGA Tour. He's a role model for so many. He's
02:00a dude, like a bro, like one of the best hangs in the world. Gary is Mr. Cool, too.
02:07You know, he's got this swaggy walk to him. He plays with that attitude when he's coming down the stretch
02:14that he is the most confident and well-prepared golfer coming down the stretch.
02:20We saw that today in Houston. But he's he's always been a guy that I've looked up to.
02:25And I think many other players feel the exact same way. So when he's been on this journey for so
02:31many years now, it's it's been remarkable, really, to to see him continue to play on the PGA Tour while
02:39dealing with all of the symptoms that he was having.
02:41I think we all I think most people, unless you were inside Gary Woodland's inner circle, you would have known
02:48this was going on.
02:49And I think we've been celebrating him over the last couple of years where he's had this internal battle, like
02:55you referenced, Charlie, that nobody knew was going on.
02:58So for him to be able to play through it, but also, you know, somehow through all of this, not
03:08lose it, you know, it would have been so easy for him to have had moments to say, you know
03:13what?
03:13I can't do this anymore. I've got to get away from it and and just kind of restart the cycle.
03:18But he was able to power through. And it's amazing to me how important it is for people to be
03:24vulnerable and have moments to let them know that, hey, I'm not OK.
03:28Like this isn't something that I feel is going away anytime soon. But if I can get this thousand pound
03:34weight off my back, maybe it'll help and maybe it will help somebody else.
03:39And when I saw Gary Woodland this week, earlier in the week on on Wednesday, just drive around the golf
03:44course, walk up to Gary.
03:45And it's the first time that I had seen him alone to where I could thank him and say, Gary,
03:50you know what?
03:51I've always looked up to you. You're not only a role model to me, but I just think you getting
03:56in front of a camera and and being yourself and talking about what you're going through is something that may
04:03inspire somebody else.
04:05And I said, hey, you're you never know what anybody's going through. And and I appreciate you being open and
04:11honest.
04:12And I little did I know he was going to win this week because I would have asked him more
04:17questions about his game.
04:18I just I know it was my first time just to, you know, just kind of well wishes.
04:23I can't wait to see you back playing good golf. He had a good week at Valspar the week before.
04:28And man, oh, man, were we in store for an incredible week from Gary.
Comments