The Transcendence of Gary Woodland

Gary Woodland  Photo courtesy of PGA Tour

By Michael Hooper

Gary Woodland, who grew up in Topeka, recently won again on the PGA tour after struggling to rebuild his career after brain cancer surgery.

In an emotional interview after he won The Houston Open on March 29, 2026, Woodland acknowledged it’s been a long road back to victory. 

“We play an individual sport out here, (but) I wasn't alone today... I've got a lot of people behind me — my team, family, this golf world," Woodland said on NBC-TV. "Anybody that is struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting.”

The victory was his fifth of his career and earned him a trip to the Masters in April. He played pretty well in the Masters, he made the cut and finished tied for 14th. In his fourth round he shot a stellar six under 66. This round probably meant a lot to him because Woodland sometimes faltered on the weekend, but instead he finished strong. 

The greatest moment in his career was winning the US Open at Pebble Beach by three shots in June 2019. I remember watching this because I was in Vieques, Puerto Rico, at the time and I had to go to the Lazy Jack's bar to watch the golf tournament because there was nothing on television at my hotel. The bartender was kind enough to change the channel on one of its televisions so that I could see Woodland win his first major.

After that, Woodland's career started to slide and he fell to 142nd in the Official Golf World Ranking in 2022. Then in August 2023 he announced his brain tumor diagnosis. In September 2023 he underwent brain surgery that removed part of the tumor.

Woodland returned to action on the PGA Tour in January 2024, but he struggled the entire year to post a top 10 finish, finally reaching it at the Shriners Children’s Open in October 2024. But by January 2025 he had fallen out of the top 200. Then earlier this year he announced he’s been suffering from PTSD.

Through it all, Woodland continued to work hard. His trainers helped him, his coaches helped him and his caddy, Brennan "Butchie" Little, stayed with him. Most important, his family stayed with him, his wife, Gabby, and their three children, and of course, his parents, Dan and Linda Woodland of Topeka, all supported Woodland through his health struggles.

Woodland missed the cut a few times this year but tied for 14th in the Valspar Championship on March 22.  He placed eighth in the RBC Heritage on April 19. Woodland finished his final round in the RBC Heritage with a stunning eagle 2 on the par-4 18th hole, holing out from 204 yards.

Woodland tied for 38th in the Cadillac Championship May 3. He played great in his first two rounds in the Cadillac Championship, with scores of 68 and 69, which left him in the top 10 but his third round 77 was pretty bad. Yet he redeemed himself on Sunday with a final round 70.

Woodland's swing is a compact 3/4 swing, with a moderately slow take back, which helps him build up energy, then he comes down through the ball with tremendous speed and power, driving the ball over 300 yards. He is one of the longest drivers of the ball on the PGA tour. He stays down through the swing long enough to keep the ball going straight. He remains flexible even though he will be 42 years old on May 21. 

Woodland attended Shawnee Heights High School and became a four-year letterman in both basketball and golf. As a senior, he became the first All State basketball player at Shawnee Heights averaging 18 points per game for the season including 26 points in the state title match. Woodland attended Washburn University on a basketball scholarship, but left after his freshman year to attend the University of Kansas in Lawrence on a golf scholarship. He decided to switch to golf because he felt he wasn’t fast enough for basketball.

In February 2025, Woodland was awarded the PGA Tour Courage Award in recognition of his recovery from surgery. The surgery did not fully remove his brain tumor and the residual tumor sits near his amygdala, which controls his emotions. Woodland said that during the second round of the 2026 Houston Open, he battled the last 10 holes, thinking people were trying to kill him.

When going through a crisis, it is hard to keep your head up. The people who are able to carry on and rebuild their life back to what it was and even go a step further, reaching the winner's circle, have reached a state of transcendence. They have transcended their pain and agony and turned it into something good, something beautiful. This is the transcendence of Gary Woodland.

Whenever you see Woodland on TV, you might notice he's wearing a shirt with a Security Benefit logo. Security Benefit, a longtime Topeka insurance and retirement company, began its partnership with Woodland in 2020 and has continued to support him through his recovery from brain surgery and return to the PGA Tour.

Woodland is one of the most popular golfers on the PGA Tour, he’s highly respected by his peers and he has a lot of fans around the country.

Topeka should be proud that one of its own has reached such tremendous heights.

Writer's note: One of the reasons I wrote this story is because I miss the writing of Brent Maycock, former sports writer of The Topeka Capital-Journal, who wrote extensively about Gary Woodland on the PGA Tour. One year Maycock went to the Masters to cover him and won the press lottery to play the Master's course on the Monday following the tournament. I don't think Maycock broke 100 but he got to play on one of the greatest golf courses of all time.