Gary Woodland receives PGA Tour Courage Award as he returns from brain surgery

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Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was honored Wednesday with the PGA Tour Courage Award as he comes back from brain surgery to remove a lesion that was causing him to have unfounded thoughts that he was dying.

Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to go along with three other PGA Tour titles, had a hole the size of a baseball removed from his head so doctors could remove the lesion in a September 2023 surgery.

He returned last year and continues to make strides toward restoring his game and his life at home with wife Gabby and his three children.

“Receiving this is a testament to the people around me because there’s no way, one, I’d be back playing or no way I’d be sitting here today if it wasn’t for them,” Woodland said at PGA National, where he is playing the Cognizant Classic.

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“It means everything for me to receive it, but it really belongs to the people around me.”

The Courage Award is presented to a person who overcomes extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to golf.

Chris Kirk was honored last year for his battle with alcoholism. Previous winners include Jarrod Lyle of Australia, who died after a long battle with leukemia, and two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan presented Woodland with the award at PGA National.

“He’s overcome so many challenges, which is nothing short of miraculous,” Monahan said. “He continues to manage symptoms associated with his initial diagnosis while competing — and competing very well — at the highest level of professional golf. Gary Woodland is a constant inspiration to us all.”

The Courage Award includes a contribution of $25,000 from the tour to a charity of the recipient’s choice. Woodland selected Champion Charities — he and his wife are matching the donation — an organization dedicated to research and patient support in brain tumor, brain disease and brain trauma.

Woodland said he learned of the organization from former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Harris Barton, his partner in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year. Both of Barton’s parents died from brain tumors.

Woodland had one top 10 last year when he returned. This is the final year of his exemption from winning the U.S. Open.

“At the end of the day, I’m fighting,” he said. “The last thing I’m going to let this do is let this thing in my head stop my dreams, and that’s why I fight every day. I want to be there for my kids and my family, but I want to chase my dreams, too. I’ve got a lot of dreams out here.

“I’m starting to understand what I need to do every day to function in life, but the things I’m doing to help with my brain are also helping me play golf, and I’m knocking on the door. It’s coming, and I’m going to keep knocking on that door until I bust through.”