Gary Woodland shares emotional tribute to family after strong Houston Open finish

Gary Woodland is perhaps the most inspiring golf stories in recent history. The 40-year-old American’s life was threatened at one point during his career, but luckily, the popular golfer came back after brain surgery, showed his passion for golf, excelling at this year’s Houston Open. 

The American finished as T2, tied with Scottie Scheffler. 

Houston Open was won by Min Woo Lee, being the most concrete in the fierce competition. 

Woodland shared positive emotions after the last round, admitting that fatigue was a massive problem for him, but the fans gave him extra energy.

“This week was unbelievable, to be honest with you,” Woodland said, as quoted by Golf Week.

“The fans were absolutely amazing. I battled some fatigue and stuff out there and they pushed me, they really did. I fed off their energy. Their love and support really carried me especially over the weekend. Today was amazing and I needed that boost, it was nice.”

Gary Woodland shares his emotions

The experienced golfer revealed that it was not easy to come back after all the challenges and difficult periods in his life. Woodland stresses that it is necessary to pay attention to many details during the game in order to give his best. Such performances give him optimism and faith that the future can look something different for him.

“It’s hard for me to get ahead thinking-wise because I don’t have the stamina to do it,” Woodland said. 

“So a lot of breath work, a lot of things to slow everything down. I was in really good control of my thoughts and my emotions, which hasn’t been the case for me for a long time. With that said, today was a great day for me.”

Gary continued, saying that this is a special experience, grateful to be on golf courses and part of competitions like these. He believes that he is blessed to be able to play PGA Tournaments, travel the world and have such a fan base. 

In addition, he thanked his family and children, saying that he fights and lives for them, and that he wants to show them that with fighting it is possible to achieve anything.