Gary Woodland's mental health in a better spot heading into Cadillac Championship

DORAL, Fla. — Gary Woodland continues to make progress toward managing his mental health. Woodland's breakthrough came at the Masters, where large crowds and an intimate surrounding forced the Delray Beach, Florida, resident to speak out about what it required for him to make it through a round of golf.

"I think the biggest thing for me is I need to voice what I'm feeling, what I need to say," Woodland said two days before the 2026 Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. "And I think that week forced me to do it. I learned a lot that week."

Gary Woodland watches a tee shot during the first round of the 2026 RBC Heritage.

Woodland, who has an 11:20 a.m. ET tee time on Thursday, April 30, for Round 1, met with PGA Tour security following the Masters to review what worked and what didn't. He finished tied for 33rd at even par after carding a 66 in the final round, the best round of his 13 Masters and 10 shots better than the previous day.

The next week, at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Woodland was T-8. He won the Texas Children's Houston Open in March, which earned him spots into the Cadillac and other signature events this season.

Woodland, whose world ranking has risen to No. 45 after closing 2025 at No. 125, said he played the final 10 holes in Houston "thinking people were trying to kill me."

Woodland, 41, suffers from PTSD following 2023 surgery in which doctors removed a tumor in the area of his brain that controls fear and anxiety. He continues to experience hypervigilance with part of the tumor still resting against his brain.