After seizures and fear of death, Woodland returns to PGA

LOS ANGELES: Gary Woodland battled a brain lesion for months last year, suffering fear of death and night seizures before surgery eased his worries and led to his PGA Tour return this week at Honolulu.

The 39-year-old American, seeking his first victory since the 2019 US Open, will tee off at the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club. It´s his first event since last August and after a brain lesion was removed last September.

“This week will be a big week,” said Woodland. “I can hit every golf shot I want right now physically. It´s can my brain sustain the seven days of tournament golf? “It has been a long process. A couple weeks ago I didn´t know if this week was possible. It has been a journey for me but this was a goal of mine from surgery to be back. I plan on being competitive very quickly.”

Woodland began feeling symptoms at last April´s Mexico Open, starting with night seizures that would jolt him awake. “It was a lot of jolting, especially in the middle of the night. Shaking. Hands were really tremoring,” he said.

“A lot of fear. That was the one that scared me the most. I was very fear-driven every day, mostly around death. As it got worse, loss of appetite, chills, no energy.” When anxiety medication didn´t help and he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, Woodland consulted a specialist who ordered an MRI exam last May 24.

“I got an MRI that night and came back with a lesion. Looked like a tumor on my brain,” Woodland said. “The jolting and everything I was experiencing at night was partial seizures. The lesion in my brain sat on the part of my brain that controls fear and anxiety.”