Gary Woodland is playing the PNC Championship with his father. It's a celebration for both

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gary Woodland returned to golf four months after doctors had to cut a baseball-sized hole in his head to remove a lesion on part of the brain that caused unfounded fears of dying. He felt fortunate to still be playing, and the emotions were strong.

Turns out the former U.S. Open champion was coping with much more at the 2024 Sony Open.

He received a phone call from his mother on the Saturday before that event that his father, Dan, had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. It's been a lot, and that's what makes playing in the PNC Championship so special.

''This is a special week for both of us for perspective,'' Woodland said.

Woodland and his father are newcomers to the 36-hole event that pairs major champions with a family member. There are 20 teams and a long waiting list to get in. Woodland was thrilled to get an invitation, which was followed by a memorable phone call to his father in Kansas.

''I can't think of a better way to start the holidays. Got the whole family here — the grandkids here, my daughter's here, my wife's here. I'm excited,'' Dan Woodland said, his voice at times cracking.

He had five months of chemotherapy — six days in the hospital every three weeks — and was able to ring the cancer-free bell late last year.

The format is a scramble — both players each hit from the best shot — so this tournament on network television (NBC) is more about fun and than pressure. It began as the Father-Son Challenge, a chance to see the children of major champions and has morphed in other family members.

Annika Sorenstam is playing with her son, 14-year-old Will, who beat her for the first time this summer during a round at Turnberry. Steve Stricker is playing with daughter, Izzi, a sophomore at Wisconsin who won the Wisconsin Women's Amateur and Match Play Championship this year.

Woodland said he has been watching this event for years, and he won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, ''one of the first things that came to mind was that we'd have an opportunity to play in this.''

So it's a celebration of being a major champion, and for Woodland, a celebration of much more.

Woodland still is in recovery mode, and while he's not back to where he wants to me, there were some small successes. He narrowly made the PGA Tour postseason, missing the FedEx Cup playoffs by two spots at No. 72. He made it to his first Ryder Cup as an assistant to U.S. captain Keegan Bradley, a popular choice among the players.

''The surgeons and doctors are happy with where I'm at, but I have a long way to go".

There are times he needs a dark room and quiet, not always easy to find with 8-year-old Jaxson and 6-year-old twin daughters Maddox and Lennox.

''It's a learning process every day,'' he said. ''I've taken off the last couple months to focus more on my health to hopefully ... it's a long year and try to battle and get through it. It's getting better. It's still a long way from where we want it to be.''

Woodland is as athletic as anyone on the PGA Tour, a three-sport star in high school who eventually had to choose among baseball, basketball and golf. His father thought baseball was his best sport and basketball his greatest love.

''And here we are playing golf,'' Dan Woodland said with a laugh, as his wife sat to the side using her phone to take video of their interview.

''I was heading to 18,'' he said. ''But to watch that last putt go in ... incredible.''

It's what brought him to the PNC Championship, nearly two years after his cancer diagnosis, nearly two years after his son returned from brain surgery. A special week, indeed.

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