Woodland shared this anecdote on Thursday after the first round of the BMW Championship. And just seeing the look in his eyes relaying that moment in Memphis said so much about how he assesses what his career has come to mean to others and not just himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I got a lot of perspective over the last couple of years. I know I\u2019m fighting for a lot more than playing golf,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m hopefully having a positive impact on a lot of people\u2019s lives just showing up and fighting. Knowing that I\u2019m struggling every day, and hopefully \u2026 I\u2019m having a bigger impact than just showing up and showing that I can still compete and play out here and live my dreams. That\u2019s the big deal is I\u2019m struggling, and I\u2019m still living my dreams. I hope people see that and try to do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodland\u2019s dream took a fairytale turn in late March when he won the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open less than a month after revealing that he suffers from PTSD. That victory, his fifth career title on the PGA Tour and first in almost seven years, is easily the most inspirational story of the year, one that was a triumph of the spirit more than a conquering of a golf course and a field of talented competitors.<\/p>\n
18 holes of golf can be mentally draining. Factor in a PTSD diagnosis and it gets even more difficult.<\/p>\n
Gary Woodland shares why he puts his hand on his chest before putting \u2026 a unique way to keep himself grounded during tough moments on the course. pic.twitter.com\/UCiM2a3yWs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Reaching next week\u2019s Tour Championship would be a remarkable encore. That\u2019s why his dream start at Bellerive Country Club has a goosebump feel to it. Despite a bogey on the final hole, Woodland opened with a six-under 64 that provided an early clubhouse lead that was matched later by reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Masters champ Rory McIlroy, J.J. Spaun and Chris Gotterup.<\/p>\n Woodland, 42, has not advanced to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta since 2019, the year he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He hadn\u2019t even made the playoffs since his surgery in September 2023. He entered this week 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, just outside the cutoff, so making an early move was a welcome result. His round included an eagle at the par-4 11th hole when he holed a sand wedge from 102 yards. One of his five birdies came from 53 feet. The only green he missed was the final one, and he nearly saved par from a greenside bunker, lipping out from seven feet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of where I\u2019m at right now. I can promise you East Lake wasn\u2019t on my mind to start the year,\u201d said Woodland, ranked 47th in the world. \u201cIt\u2019s a goal, I think you write it down, but it seemed like far, far away. The game\u2019s just continued to grind. I\u2019ve had up-and-down days. I\u2019ve had some rough days lately. But I just, we\u2019ve built this together, Randy [Smith, his swing coach] and I, to get to a point where I feel very comfortable over the golf ball. If I can find a way to get through 18 holes mentally, my game\u2019s in a pretty good spot where I can compete out here at a level I haven\u2019t been able to compete in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED: Here\u2019s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2026 BMW Championship<\/a><\/p>\n Bellerive has been a friendly place for Woodland, being just three hours from his hometown of Topeka, Kansas. He is familiar with the grasses, and the Missouri crowd was supportive of the former Kansas Jayhawk. \u201cEighteen years on tour, this is as close as I\u2019ll ever get to home. So this is special,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Eight years ago in the PGA Championship, he led after each of the first three rounds and tied for sixth while playing in the final round with Tiger Woods. Coincidentally, he opened that championship with a 64.<\/p>\n \u201cToday was nice,\u201d he said by way of understatement. \u201cI hit it better today than I did that day [in 2018]. I made a ton of putts that day, I remember. Today I drove it nice, controlled the irons in there. I made a couple long putt, but I left a lot out there as well. So I was very happy with the way I hit the ball today.\u201d<\/p>\n It helped that he recently watched a video of the PGA and noticed that his backswing was a little shorter then. He incorporated that into his swing on Thursday and he enjoyed more control of his golf ball.<\/p>\n Alex Slitz<\/p>\n Controlling himself continues to be a work in progress\u2014and probably always will be. Revealing his struggle with PTSD, he said, was incredibly liberating. \u201cI got a lot of relief from that,\u201d Woodland admitted. \u201cI still battle the same things now that I was battling then, but I feel the love and support, I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m hiding anything. I have more energy and that\u2019s the big deal. I was wasting energy hiding that and I\u2019m not wasting the energy anymore. So I\u2019m still battling it, but I\u2019m able to fight it a little better now.\u201d<\/p>\n When anxiety threatens to overtake him, he has a method for coping. You might notice it as he goes through his round.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m struggling, I put my hand on my heart to just to remind myself that I\u2019m alive, and if I can feel my heart beat I know I\u2019m breathing,\u201d he said while putting his hand on his heart as if to demonstrate the power of the gesture. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve done that this year just to try to slow my heart down, tell myself I\u2019m safe and I\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Woodland is better than all right. He is an inspiration\u2014playing golf for more than just himself and somehow thriving. Always ill-at ease but never faint of heart.<\/p>\n Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gary-Woodland-2.jpg\")
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