Former US Open champion Gary Woodland is determined to “jump start” his career as he returns to action following surgery to remove a brain lesion.
Woodland, who won his maiden major title at Pebble Beach in 2019, was diagnosed with the lesion in May last year but kept competing on the PGA Tour before undergoing surgery on September 18.
The 39-year-old will make his first start since August in this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, where world number eight Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Brian Harman head the 144-man field.
“They track it every three months now with an MRI and I had a little tough spell leading up to the MRI a couple weeks ago because I was a little nervous, but everything came back well,” Woodland said in his pre-tournament press conference.
“At the end of the day, I just want to prove you can do hard things. I want to prove to my kids nobody is going to tell you you can’t do anything.
“You can overcome tough, scary decisions in your life. Not everything is easy. This came out of nowhere for me, but I’m not going to let it stop me.
“I don’t want this to be a bump in the road for me. I want it to be a jump start in my career.
“At the end of the day, I’m here because I believe this is what I’ve been born to do, play great golf. I want to do that again. It’s been a while. Been a couple of years.
“Nothing is going to stop me. I believe that. I believe a lot of great things are ahead.”
Woodland revealed he first experienced symptoms shortly after last year’s Masters which included partial seizures in the night and “a lot of fear”.
“The lesion sat on the part of my brain that controls fear and anxiety,” Woodland said.
“The specialist in Kansas City explained everything to a T. He’s like, you’re not going crazy. Everything you’re experiencing is common and normal for where this thing is sitting in your brain.”
Remarkably, Woodland kept competing on the PGA Tour as he tried to treat the symptoms with medication, but struggled with a lack of energy and focus and would even forget which club he was about to hit while standing over the ball.
Another specialist in Miami eventually urged Woodland to undergo surgery to remove the lesion as its location was too risky to attempt a biopsy.
“He didn’t want to go in any more than he had to. So surgery and removal was the next step,” Woodland said.
“They couldn’t get it all out from where it was located (but) it was benign.
“If it was cancerous they would’ve removed it all. It’s up against my optic tract. They removed as much as they could and believe they cut off the blood circulation to what’s left.”
McIlroy: Golf could learn from Northern Ireland peace process
Rory McIlroy has urged professional golf to find a "compromise" to the ongoing rift between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV circuit.
The world number two suggested they should follow the example of the Northern Ireland peace process, recalling the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a peace deal that helped to end the Troubles in his homeland.
McIlroy noted the advantages of a deal being reached soon while admitting that both golf tours would have to compromise in the process.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, McIlroy said: "I sort of liken it to like when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the '90s and the Good Friday Agreement. Neither side was happy.
"Catholics weren't happy, Protestants weren't happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?
"That was in 1998, and 20, 25, 30 years ahead, my generation doesn't know any different. It's just this is what it's always been like, and we've never known anything but peace.
"That's sort of my little way of trying to think about it and trying to make both sides see that there could be a compromise here.
"It's probably not going to feel great for either side, but if it's a place where the game of golf starts to thrive again, and we can all get back together, then I think that's ultimately a really good thing."
Tiger Woods confirmed as part of PGA Championship field
Tiger Woods has been officially named as part of the field for next week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
Woods, who has clinched four of his 15 major titles at the PGA Championship, made a record-breaking 24th consecutive cut at the Masters last month.
A nightmare third round of 82 – his worst ever at Augusta National – meant he finished last of all players to make the cut on 16 over, but he immediately outlined his intention to play the remaining three majors of 2024.
On Tuesday, the 48-year-old was officially confirmed as being part of the field for next week's event in Louisville, joining 15 other past winners including Rory McIlroy and defending champion Brooks Koepka.
Two further spots will be allocated to the winners of this week's Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic.
While McIlroy won the last PGA Championship to be held at Valhalla in 2014, Woods triumphed on the previous occasion in 2000, the first leg of the 'Tiger Slam' in which he held all four major titles at once.
Last week, Woods was given a special exemption to allow him to feature at June's U.S. Open, for which he failed to qualify after slipping to 801st in the world rankings.
Things trending in the right direction for Koepka ahead of PGA Championship defence
Brooks Koepka believes things are trending in the right direction as he prepares to defend his PGA Championship title next week, having warmed up with a two-shot win at LIV Golf Singapore.
Koepka recorded his first triumph on the LIV circuit this year on Sunday, shooting a three-under final round of 68 to see off competition from Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.
A resurgent Smith shot five under in the third round in Singapore, but Koepka carded four birdies and one bogey to ensure he became the first player to win four titles on the LIV tour.
His return to form comes at an ideal time, as he gears up for a bid to win his fourth PGA Championship title – and sixth major overall – at Valhalla Golf Club next week.
"It's all starting to come around. I've put in a lot of work and I like the way things are trending," the Florida native said.
"I just need to go back next week and make sure everything continues, do the right stuff and go from there."
Kopeka had finished in a share of ninth in LIV's previous event in Adelaide one week earlier, four shots back of winner Brendan Steele.
The 34-year-old continued: "I feel good – I feel a lot better than I did last week.
"It was about rounding the corner for me. I was improving but the results weren't there. It's nice to see some results and the hard work paying off.
"I still have the same expectations every time I go tee it up and that's to win. Those are my expectations, what I want to do. One result doesn't mean anything really in the scheme of things.
"For two weeks, a lot can change. Yeah, it does help, but at the same time, I've seen guys miss cuts and then go win and then win and then not compete the week after. It's all ebbs and flows."
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