Perspective is a sobering thing when it comes to health. 

Gary Woodland (Titleist Pro V1) made us all appreciate that we are nothing without our health, while also proving that will is sometimes more powerful than the mind in terms of everyday living. 

 In going public recently with The Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard about his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Woodland allowed us a peek into his private world since his brain surgery in September 2023.  

The Netflix series Full Swing documented the hell Woodland had been going through prior to his surgery. His quality of life and his relationship with his wife and kids was almost destroyed until he was able to learn his feelings were caused by a brain lesion, which was removed.

The episode was raw and sad, and you truly felt for Woodland and his family.

But the story did not have a follow through until he shared his experiences with Hoggard about how he’d leave the golf course during competitions to hide in a washroom and cry, essentially hiding his feelings from the golf world and the world at large.

He found relief going public and now has found a new lease on his golf career — and life in general — following his emotional victory in the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Texas Children’ Hospital in conjunction with Cleats for Kids designed shoes for some players in the event. So, there was Woodland, wearing brightly colored Puma shoes designed by a young girl who has battled brain cancer for seven years. Prominently displayed on the shoes was the world COURAGE.

This was literally and metaphorically courage on display.

I often refer to sports as the ultimate reality show. Woodland winning the event was as real as it gets.

Maybe this was the golfing gods finally giving him relief for all he has gone through, or maybe this was his fate.

After missing the cut in four of his first six tournaments this year, he served notice of a turnaround tying for 14 in the Valspar Championship in his previous outing.

He tied for second in the Texas Children’s Hospital the year before and has had a decent overall record in the event. But did anyone see a victory happening? Unless you were taking a shot betting on him, the answer was unequivocally no.

He made some changes in his stance and an equipment adjustment with a Cobra driver and irons and a Scotty Cameron GoLo putter. He also returned to using KBS C-Taper 130 X iron shafts. But you have be really dialed in to take all that into account and deduce it could make a sizeable difference, though I’ve repeatedly said equipment changes should be made public. Again, it’s information that could be helpful in betting – and make no mistake betting has become a huge part of professional golf. Equipment changes are made public in horse racing, so they should be publicized in golf or, frankly, any event in which gambling is involved.

His victory was as much about perseverance, strength, patience and, ultimately, talent. In fact, you could mix in all of that and come up with a reason why he won.

In recent weeks, third-round leaders have come undone in the final round of PGA Tour events, so the weight of that alone was pressure that Woodland faced.

And one can only wonder the pain he would have felt had he let slip a chance to win. But not only did he stand up to the pressure, he seemed to thrive on it with his exemplary putting. In the leadup to the final round, The Golf Channel showed him practicing putts of six feet or less, making each one. So, when it really mattered, Woodland did not buckle.

In what has been one week after another with stories of wins and losses and unbelievable story lines in professional golf as a whole, it would be hard to imagine anything this year that could eclipse what Woodland did, purely from an emotion standpoint.

This was in many ways an ending similar to what the sports world saw around this time last year when Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5) completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters and falling to his knees and shaking. It was a visceral display of emotion and will always be frozen in time.

So will this, but sadly it won’t have the impact of what McIlroy did. McIlroy has a much bigger sports profile and his was a career sports achievement, a milestone if you will. Outside of the golf world, Woodland isn’t widely known. But that will change. This was his first PGA Tour win in nine years. But if he thought winning the U.S. Open in 2019 was a big deal, I think he will now admit this was far more important. Not only did he end a seven-year drought, but he now has something tangible he can share with people who suffer from PTSD and cancer.

As the sounds of “Gary, Gary, Gary” by the patrons surrounding the 18^th hole rung through the air, he completed his final putt to cap off the moment. He had his fellow players surrounding the green to honor the momentous win. He is a popular player, perhaps more so than ever.

And as he walked over to his wife and cried in her arms, this was the ending to what will surely be a book about his life, a documentary and maybe a movie.

You can’t make up this stuff.

THIS AND THAT

• Shane Lowry (Srixon Z-STAR XV) recorded a hole in one in the tournament, yet another ace for the popular Irishman.

• It will be interesting when the LPGA plays The Chevron Championship at Memorial Park Golf Course April 23-26. It’s on the same course as the Texas Children’s Hospital Open and a lake is being built for the ceremonial jump in the water by the winner. So, who will win? Well, Hyo-joo Kim (Titleist Pro V1x), who placed in a tie for second last year, is on a heater, winning the last two LPGA Tour events. Both times she beat Nelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5x), whose runner-up performances and victory in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in her first start of the season are proof the world’s former No. 1 is back to form.

• The Golf Channel switched away from live coverage to show the police in Jupiter Island, Florida providing news of the car crash involving Tiger Woods (Bridgestone Tour B X). Sadly, this has become far too frequent. Just when he seems to be turning his life around, something new happens.