'Living a lie' - Gary Woodland admits PTSD struggles following life-saving brain surgery

The 41-year-old underwent an operation to remove a tumour in 2023 but - having returned to the PGA Tour the following year - was diagnosed with PTSD a year ago.

STRUGGLES: Gary Woodland admitted he felt he was "living a lie" hiding his post-traumatic stress disorder following life-saving brain surgery. Pic: Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images

Former US Open champion Gary Woodland admitted he felt he was "living a lie" hiding his post-traumatic stress disorder following life-saving brain surgery.

The 41-year-old, who won his only major at Pebble Beach in 2019, underwent an operation to remove a tumour in 2023 but - having returned to the PGA Tour the following year - was diagnosed with PTSD a year ago.

Woodland said one of the symptoms was hypervigilance and recounted one incident when he was startled by an on-course scorer and immediately suffered blurred vision, struggled to finish his round and spent the remainder of the day in tears.

"In an ideal world I'm probably not playing. But in an ideal world I don't have this. This is my dream," he told the Golf Channel.

"There are days when it's tough - crying in the scoring trailer, running to my car just to hide it. I don't want to live that way anymore.

"I can't waste energy any more hiding this and I'm blessed with a lot of support out here on the tour. I appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I'm dying and I feel like I'm living a lie."