MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2026

Gary Woodland

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We're delighted to have Gary Woodland here with us at the press building. Gary, welcome. Good to have you back again and congratulations on your great win in Houston.

GARY WOODLAND: I'm excited to be back here, I can tell you. It was hard missing this place last year. I'm overexcited to be back.

THE MODERATOR: It was a very emotional win you had in Houston. I was delighted to watch on television. How do you feel about the whole thing now that you've had such a great win and you're back here at the Masters after missing a year?

GARY WOODLAND: I was reminded pretty quickly when I won that I would be back here, and that's something I didn't know when that was going to come again.

Winning was probably the last thing on my mind for a long time. Unfortunately, probably playing here was the last thing on my mind for a long time. I'm thrilled to knock both of those off the list in one week.

This is the pinnacle of everything here. It was hard to miss last year, but I'm happy and excited and looking forward to this week being back.

Q. As you got into contention there, obviously we all know that a win and you're in the Masters and you weren't in any other way. Did it cross your mind at all as you were playing or preparing, and if it did, did you have to block it out?

GARY WOODLAND: It didn't cross my mind. My mind's changed a lot over the last couple years, and I just don't have the luxury of looking ahead. When I'm not on the course, I'm in a battle, and when I'm on the course, I'm in a battle.

I was talking to JT, I think, about it earlier. He was asking me how I looked pretty calm on Sunday. I said, the doctors and everybody I'm working with were trying to slow my heart rate down, were trying to slow my thoughts down just to function and be healthy. But doing those things obviously helps my golf game as well. I wish I knew a lot of this stuff 20 years ago.

I can't think ahead of myself. I'm trying to get through each moment and each day one day at a time. I also think that helps -- from a golf standpoint, that helps as well, staying so in the moment, singular focus.

Q. The challenges that you have faced and conquered have been quite extraordinary, and you've managed to come out the other side, not just as a man, but your golf is also still at the very peak. You've been very open about the challenges you faced. How do you think that's helped you remain or become a better golfer?

GARY WOODLAND: It's given me purpose, golf has, for sure. When I was diagnosed with this brain tumor three years ago, my number one thought was I wasn't going to let this thing win. I've dreamed of being a professional athlete since I was a little kid, and I would do everything in my power to live that dream for my childhood self.

Golf has given me something a lot more to fight for than just myself and my family. I love being out here. I love the guys. I love competing. And the thought of losing that is hard.

There's been times where I didn't know if it was -- if I was going to be able to do it, but I was going to fight and give it everything I had. There's definitely times even this year where physically I think my game is as complete as it's ever been. I think it's more complete than when I won in '19 the U.S. Open. But there's been times where I didn't know if I'd have the mental stamina to get through a week.

I fought hard earlier this year with some struggles, and that's hard, that's a hard pill to swallow that this thing could be taken away from me for something that's out of my control.

Houston was a big step in the right direction, just from a confidence standpoint, that even with hard days, I can still compete.

Q. Given everything you've been through, how do you think it might feel if this journey ends with a green jacket being slipped on your shoulders?

GARY WOODLAND: Like I said, I've got to worry about today. That's a big tell. I love this place. I love the tradition. There's nothing like driving down Magnolia Lane. I definitely drove down a little slower this year than I ever have, even the first time I was here in 2011. I'm definitely taking it all in this week for sure.

Q. We've been noticing a steady increase in ball speed throughout the year and getting quite fast out in Houston. I'm curious what's behind that? Is it new equipment in the bag, the new driver, or what's given you back this speed?

GARY WOODLAND: I've been telling guys I think I'm just angry that I have to battle this thing in my head, but I'll credit Randy Smith to that.

When I came back to Randy about a year and a half ago, he told me I was swinging slow. I was with Randy when I got out here. I was with Randy a long time. He's always said my best golf is when I play aggressive and I swing hard.

Not only that, but for the last four or five years, I haven't played very well. I've changed my equipment. I've gone down in shaft. I've gone up in loft. I've done a lot of things just to try to find the face and try to find the golf course. Randy's big thing is that's not how you've ever played your best, and we're going to go back to swinging hard.

I'm swinging it harder now than I have in a long time. We've gone way down in loft, and I'm starting to swing it a lot better and I have more confidence. The more confidence I have, the harder I can swing. So I'm happy with that.

I don't think it's going to get any faster, but it's definitely as fast as I've been in the last five or six years, which is exciting.

Q. Gary, you've been here 12 other times, including '24, which was after your surgery. Today obviously you seem more emotional about it. Is it because you never thought you'd be back here? What is driving the way you are feeling this week?

GARY WOODLAND: I'm in a different spot than I've been in a long time. Coming back in '24 I was still fresh from surgery. I just didn't know what the future held. Now I know the fight I'm in.

I'm not going to get emotional, but I know what I'm battling every day. People ask me how was the win? The one thing I know is having this brain tumor and having PTSD, it doesn't matter if I win or lose. It doesn't care. I had a tough time last week battling this stuff. A lot of stimulation comes with winning, stuff I hadn't seen in a long time.

It's a big week for me this week. The fans are very close on the tee boxes. There's a lot going on. There's probably not a safer golf tournament in the world, so I'm happy for that, but it's still a battle in my head if I'm safe or not. That's a tough pill to swallow.

I'm emotional from the standpoint I know how close I probably was to never being back here, and I'm very proud of myself for earning my way back.

Q. I think everyone, rightfully, the golf world, rightfully, celebrated the initial brain surgery and recovery and return to golf but did not know about this whole subsequent battle with PTSD until you shared this with the world at THE PLAYERS. I'm wondering if that was something you expected and how you dealt with that, both with public and private support, internally, because, as you said on the green at Houston, your goal is to inspire people and help support people. And so if there's something that anyone is going through a struggle where there's an initial surgery and recovery process, that they can take that for themselves or the people around them, how they can support that person. What you learned and whether that was the expected response to the surgery itself initially.

GARY WOODLAND: The response I've gotten since I came out with this diagnosis is not what I expected, to be honest with you. I did it -- it's probably the first thing -- I've said this, it's probably the first thing I've done for myself. I did it because I was really struggling with energy. I was struggling to say no. I don't like to say no. I like to help people. I like to do everything I can.

I'm at a point where it's hard for me to do most weeks, and I need to say no. The doctors are pushing me and pushing me I can't do everything I used to do from an energy standpoint. When I say no, I feel horrible. I see the disappointment in people's eyes. And they're like, well, then maybe it is time to come out because now people will know why you're saying no.

Doing that for myself, that was the hardest part because it was a selfless act I would say I was doing. But the response and the messages I've got from people saying that it's helped them is not what I expected. It just shows that everybody is going through something. Everybody's battling something. Whether it's way bigger or way less, it doesn't matter what you're battling. To you it's important.

Winning the U.S. Open in '19 had the biggest impact in my life from a golf standpoint. There's no doubt. I hope winning in Houston had a bigger impact on somebody else's life. I hope somebody that's struggling with something sees this guy out here fighting every day and still living his dreams, and then they want to get up there and fight and live their dream too. I really from the bottom of my heart hope that happens.

Q. You've obviously been so vocal about everything you have gone through. What is your message to someone who could be watching this right now who is going through something similar to push them to keep going, that you can live out your dreams one day too?

GARY WOODLAND: Talk to somebody. We live in a world, as men and especially as an athlete, that you put your head down and you fight through it. I've done it my whole life. This is honestly one battle that I'm not able to do on my own. I tried, and it wasn't working.

And talking has helped me so much. I had a big battle Friday of Houston. I got hypervigilant on the 9th hole, and I battled the last 10 holes thinking people were trying to kill me. I have security with me. The TOUR's been amazing.

But I talked to TOUR security that night and I told them what I was going through, and every time I looked up on the weekend, my security team was behind me. Any time I got startled on the weekend, I turned around -- last year I didn't talk to TOUR security. I fought this on my own. It was awful. Turning around and knowing that I'm safe, having somebody there with me, it's the only reason why I won like two weeks ago.

To talk to somebody. You don't have to fight this on your own.

Q. We all have associations with Amen Corner and the emotions that those three holes evoke. From your perspective, what defines Amen Corner and its role here at Augusta National?

GARY WOODLAND: It's as pivotal a three-hole stretch as we're going to see in golf. There's no letup. There can be major shifts in the golf tournament. 11 is as demanding of a par-4 as you're going to see. 12 is as demanding of a par-3 you're going to see. And 13 is one of the best par-5s in the world. You can make 3, and you can make 7 pretty quickly. I think that's the definition of a good hole.

The thing about it on Sunday too is you know what everyone's doing because you can hear the crowd. There's not a lot of courses where you know if somebody's making eagle or not, but you know it here on 13.

11 is -- that's one hole you've got to hit two golf shots. And 12, we all know, there's not many 150-yard par-3s that we're not aiming at pins on Sunday, and that's definitely one of them.

I don't know if you can see a bigger shift in three holes in the middle of a golf tournament that you can like at Amen Corner.

Q. After THE PLAYERS and when you shared what you did, you finished 14th at the Valspar, obviously your win in Houston, is there anything your doctors would tell you in terms of sharing your vulnerability and the idea that you were hiding something, that to me is not accidental, but it's also only temporary. For you is it self-fulfilling? Have you felt like these periods of your quiet mind have been extended by virtue of what has happened over the last three weeks?

GARY WOODLAND: I think the one thing I talked with doctors afterwards, they were prepared for it but I wasn't, is like I said the world we live in speaking about something you would call a weakness is hard, but speaking about it and how I feel afterwards made me a lot stronger.

I didn't know that releasing this battle was going to make me stronger, and it's done that. I feel a lot stronger now than I did three weeks ago, I can tell you that. No matter how hard it is out here, I know I have someone I can talk to that I can have security. My team have been amazing in helping me, but I've turned a weakness into a strength.

I wouldn't even say it as a weakness, but I think that's the stigma out there. But I feel a lot stronger after I came out for sure.

Q. Did you have to talk to Augusta National about creating security here this week for you?

GARY WOODLAND: The TOUR did, and I've met with, yes, Augusta. I've met with their security team.

Q. Will you have people with you during the week?

GARY WOODLAND: I'll have, just like on TOUR, I'll have security with me. The main deal is they were showing me where security is. The whole deal for me is it's visual, right? If I can see somebody, then I can remind myself that I'm safe constantly.

So I have a good idea now where security is on every hole. The big deal for me, my caddie knows too. So he can constantly remind me. Like I said, I don't have control when this thing hits me, and it's tough. It can be a fan. It can be a walking score. It can be a camera guy running by me, just any startlement from behind me can trigger this pretty quickly. Knowing where the security is is a constant reminder that I'm safe.