Tiger Woods Calls Gary Woodland’s Return To Professional Golf Following Brain Surgery ‘An Unbelievable Story’

Tiger Woods will be seen playing at Riveria Golf Course in the Genesis Invitational this week. He is paired alongside Gary Woodland and Justin Thomas for the first two days. Gary Woodland was invited to the event as one of the sponsor’s exemptions and will be making his first PGA Tour signature event start in 2024.

Before the tournament began, Woods praised his dear friend Woodland for coming back to playing golf after a brain surgery in September 2023 to remove a tumor. He called his return to professional golf in merely five months of recovery “an unbelievable story.”

“I think what Gary has gone through, I don’t think people have really given it enough play.” Woods added,”I think we haven’t had enough conversation about what he’s gone through and how difficult life was for Gary and how scary that each and every moment he’s afraid of dying, and the anxiety of that and to have a surgery and remove a tumor out of his brain and to come back and play the Tour, that’s an unbelievable story.”

Gary Woodland returned to the PGA Tour earlier in January 2024 at the Sony Open in Hawaii where he missed the cut. Later, he was seen at the Farmers Insurance Open and the WM Phoenix Open. He could not proceed to weekend’s play in any of them. At Genesis Invitational, he would be hoping to at least finish inside the cutline after Friday’s play.

Tiger Woods Urges People To Praise Gary Woodland For His Unbelievable Comeback

While speaking to the media before the Genesis Invitational at Riveria Golf Course, the 15-time major champion asked everyone to praise Woodland. Woods added that he can not wait to play alongside his friend on Thursday.

“I think that we should applaud him for what he’s been able to overcome. I can’t wait, he’s been one of my great friends over the years. To be able to play with two great friends tomorrow, we’re going to have a great time,” Woods said.

Tiger Woods later went on to say that they were going to annoy each other at the Genesis Invitational and that would be “great needling”. He said,

“Obviously we’re going to be needling each other, but it’s a great needling. The fact that we’re able to do it, the fact that he’s here and able give us the needling is fantastic because that was a scary time when we didn’t know what that was going to look like.”

Gary Woodland’s return to professional golf is indeed a great comeback story. He would surely be willing to capitalize on his opportunity at his friend Tiger Woods’ hosted Genesis Invitational this week.

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

Read More