Gary Woodland's inspiring comeback continues at RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The feel-good story of the year in golf keeps getting better as Gary Woodland continued his resurgence at the first round of the RBC Heritage.

“I think my game is as complete as it's ever been,” he said. “I'm not fighting the golf game, I'm fighting my head.”

Woodland, who won last month at the Texas Children’s Houston Open just weeks after speaking out about suffering from PTSD following brain surgery, opened with a bogey-free 6-under 65 at Harbour Town Golf Links. Woodland’s smile after his round was as warm and welcoming as the sunshine over the Calibogue Sound.

Gary Woodland of the United States looks on from the fifth green during the first round of the RBC Heritage 2026 at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 16, 2026 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

“The love and support I've had, not only the last six weeks since all this, but for the last three years, has been amazing,” said Woodland who underwent brain surgery in September 2023 to remove a benign lesion that was causing seizures and, later, severe PTSD. “I've needed that energy. Last week took a lot out of me. I had a lot of love and support here today, and I needed every ounce of it.”

Woodland, 41, shot a final-round 66 at the Masters to finish T-33. He called it one of the harder weeks because the patrons are very close to players on many of the tee boxes.

“I'm in a tough spot, but we'll keep learning and we'll keep getting better,” he said.

Woodland trails Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who fired an 8-under 63, by two strokes. When a reporter asked Aberg's caddie, Joe Skovron, what his boss had done well on Thursday, he said simply, “Everything.”