Former US Open champion Gary Woodland says he wants to “relaunch” his career as he returns to the sport following surgery to remove a brain tumor.
The American, winner of the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach, was diagnosed in May last year and underwent surgery in September.
Woodland, 39, will play at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Thursday, his first appearance since August.
“I don’t want this to be a hindrance for me. I want this to be a good start to my career,” Woodland said.
“You can overcome difficult and scary decisions in your life. Not everything is easy. This came out of nowhere for me, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
“At the end of the day, I’m here because I believe this is what I was born to do, to play good golf. I want to do that again. It’s been a long time.
“Nothing is going to stop me. I am convinced of that. I believe that many great things await us.”
Woodland said he gets an MRI every three months and “everything looked good” during his most recent exam.
He began experiencing symptoms shortly after last year’s Masters, but continued to play on the PGA Tour while taking medication.
“I just didn’t feel good. It was a lot of shaking, especially in the middle of the night. Shaking; hands were really shaking,” he said describing his symptoms.
“A lot of fear. I was very afraid every day, especially about death. As the situation got worse, loss of appetite, chills, lack of energy.”
A specialist told Woodland he was suffering from partial seizures.
The four-time PGA Tour winner competed in 24 events in 2023, finishing in the top 10 twice, but was ultimately encouraged to undergo surgery to remove the tumor.
“My caddy pulled me aside [and told me] you can’t play that way,” Woodland said. “You have to go get help. You need to fix yourself. I would stand over a club and forget what club I’m hitting.
“I was lining up putts and thinking this is taking too long. I’m just going to hit it. I didn’t have the focus or the energy.”