USA golf star names the best distraction the game can offer as he lifts lid on death fears
Inspirational Gary Woodland admits the task of sinking awesome Europe offers a wonderful distraction in his fight back from terrifying health issues.
And the new Ryder Cup vice-captain on Team USA says Bob MacIntyre is a guy you want on your team as he poured praise onto the Tartan hero ahead of his Genesis Scottish Open defence this week.
Woodland's brave story is one of hope and courage. The 2019 US Open Champion admitted he feared death two years ago when diagnosed with a lesion on his brain and penned a touching letter to his three kids prior to surgery to have it removed as he didn't know how things would turn out.
Woodland came through and his battle back into the game was capped last week when Keegan Bradley named him as one of assistants for Bethpage. The 41-year-old offers a motivational tale and, standing on the range at Renaissance, he spoke about the appointment and said: 'It's a nice distraction for me right now. I don't have to think about my health, I can think about something else. It's been a good distraction for me the last couple of weeks to focus on something else.
'I'm obviously still battling and still trying to get healthy, so it's nice to think about something positive all the time right now. I'm just so happy to be back. Alternative wasn't a good alternative, so I'm blessed, I'm happy. It's great to be around all the guys and feed off their energy, for sure. I'm super, super excited. Keegan's enthusiasm and energy is contagious and I'm excited to be part of it.
'It'll be a special week. I've talked to Keegan about it for a while, but I was surprised when he showed up and knocked on the door, yes! Obviously, we have a lot of work to do, but we're excited about it.'
Woodland is one of the boys and continued: 'I think it's huge. I mean, we have obviously some young vice captains, which is good, but I've been around these guys for a long time. Keegan and I pretty much came out together, I was a year or two ahead of him, but these guys are a new generation and one that we're excited to work with. It's been nice going back and forth talking to the guys. It's nice that it's finally out. I had to keep it quiet for a little bit, so it's nice that it's out now. I can mess around with the guys.'
Woodland's story resonates with fans who have cheered him to the rafters everywhere since his return and he said: 'I've seen the reception and that's why I've been a little vocal about the struggles that I'm battling and going through because I've heard response and people that are going through the same thing and people are going through worse than me. And I feed off their energy, trying to help somebody else.
'We all struggle with something, right? So life's not easy. Golf's not easy, but we show up and fight every day and, hopefully, good things happen.'
Woodland admits it'll be a tough task trying to contain Luke Donald's trophy holders and he said: 'Europe's obviously amazing. Luke's an amazing guy and captain. They've got a lot of good vice captains as well and their team's obviously amazing. They have the cup in their hands right now, so we have a lot of work to do. But next week [The Open] is our last major. It's the last one with double points, so we're coming down to crunch time for sure. It's exciting. I'm getting caught up to speed with everybody else, but it's exciting to see.
I've watched more golf in the last couple of weeks than I've ever watched in my life, so it's exciting. I mean, obviously Keegan's got a lot on his plate, so I try to take off as much as I can to help him out, but my job is to make sure these guys show up in a mental and physical frame where they can go out and beat themselves. So I'm trying to help them out mentally and physically.'
Woodland might be popular, but nothing like the hero that MacIntyre is to have home galleries and the Oban kid is set to be in Donald's team. The American said: 'I just played with Bob two weeks ago at Travelers. It's awesome. Bob's obviously a great kid. He's had unbelievable success the last couple of years and we all know his short game's unbelievable. He rolls the heck out of it. It's awesome to see.
"Bob's a great guy. He's got a bright future. Obviously, Ryder Cup is right there with him and he's the guy you want on your team. He's a grinder and it's awesome to see. His win last year here has to be one of the most popular wins in a long time. Just to hear the crowds, being home, obviously winning [in Canada] with his dad on the back. He's had some emotional wins for sure, so it's cool to see.
'I love it over here. I think it's true golf. This is beautiful. Unfortunately, we're not over here enough. This is great, it's awesome,the imagination you can have. Usually back home, we just tee it up and hit it and go find it again and hit it. Here, you actually got to work. You got to think. That's how it's supposed to be.'
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