Gary Woodland’s caddie Brennan Little shares his perspective on seeing Gary dealing with a brain tumor and the return from surgery.
All right joined Now by brandan little veteran cadd he’s been out on the pro rank since 1999 25th year on tour I me how how hard is that to believe Brennon what’s going on man I’m doing well thanks thanks for having me uh yeah 25 they time flies I
Guess but uh that’s been great I’ve had a good experience and uh I still enjoy what I do so it’s everything’s good yeah yeah and obviously a lot of lot of great memories back with Mike we winning the Masters in ‘ 03 and then of course he
Went a major with with Gary Woodland in in 2019 already that’s almost five years ago which is wild to think that it’s been so long you know since Pebble Beach but here we go Gary Woodland back at at Sony Open you guys are this is your first event I think since Greensboro um
How does it feel like what are the emotions like you know with with you and your guy it’s great I mean I’m glad for Gary the guy’s been through a lot he and his family um you know I went down to Florida after the surgery and hung out
With him for a bit and then I was down there probably three weeks ago we played some golf and then we just spent 10 days in Hawaii together over on the big island uh Mike Weir was there so we played golf every day so it’s not like I
Haven’t seen him I mean I’ve been around been in contact a lot but I think it’s emotional for him I mean with what he had and what he’s been through and I I think it’s great for him to get back to playing um you know we’ll see how he
Does but I think all in all considering having a tumor in your head and going through what he did I think it’s great that he’s just back playing for most you know mainly but he I know he’s still playing well I’ve been around him enough and he’s competitive so I think it’s
Good for everybody I think it’s good for golf it’s good for him good for his family and I’m excited to get going yeah and I mean Hawaii for so many years has been like the Kickstart right for beginning season for so many players is so much hope and excitement this week
How does he seem I mean this is is a huge comeback and then you by the way you’re in Paradise as well yeah no I think he seems great I mean like I said we played almost every day last last 10 days um like he’s probably inside you know chomping at the
Bit to go because all pro athletes taking five months off and going through what even if you don’t go through what he did I mean you like the competition so you can’t ever simulate competition until you play in a tournament so I’m sure he’s you know I know he’s ready to
Go and uh you know he’s excited probably got a new outlook on everything and we’ll see how it goes but it’s it’s the competitions is a good thing yeah well speaking of the competition I mean it was at Greensboro right in in August um end of the regular season where you know
Gary mentioned that you you pulled him aside and you said hey man like we got to figure this out like you know at a certain point well I knew all I knew like in April whatever what it was because uh once he was diagnosed um it once he was
Diagnosed then we kind of knew when we kind he kind of battled it through the summer so I knew everything and then once he got to the end of of greensb I’m like okay you know which I told him but I’m like you got to get things figured
Out with your health first that’s the most important thing I mean he was just taking these epil these drugs proc seizures and it was it wasn’t very good I mean he wasn’t Act like himself he was kind of a zombie so I mean obviously your health is the first thing he’s got
Young kids and you know like you got to take care of that first and and get healthy and then we bun your golf after but I mean he was on a good track he had a good medical team and they were pushing up through to the end of the
Year to see how he’d do and they had been honoring the tumor so it wasn’t like it it was you know growing a lot and they they were monitoring things and he was in good hands but yeah he needed to he needed did get better right well I like were there any
Like specific things at Greensboro that like really kind of caught your eye go hey you know I’ve got to mention something here oh no we I talked to him a lot over the I mean we were I mean listen Gary’s a boss of mine but he’s
Also a good friend I mean anytime you Cy for someone you’re around them a lot and I you know I was pretty involved he kept me up to date on everything that’s going on and I’m friends with his wife and his parents so I knew I had a pretty good
Understanding of everything and it wasn’t just Greensboro but Greensboro being the end of the year it was like okay now you got a good break here now it’s time to really decide what you’re doing because you know taking meds is not good especially when you’re trying
To play golf the energy levels were low couldn’t practice like he wanted so he was battling all summer but it he needed to to get it looked after yeah and he said he was dealing with a lot of like you know some panic and and different symptoms things like that like what kind
Of things in those four and a half months or so like Did You observe uh from Gary that obviously you knew it wasn’t you knew the diagnosis but ier more the tiredness yeah there just being the taking them I knew when he had the Tremors he didn’t really have any
Tremors around me like at the course it was more of a nighttime thing or an early morning but I knew he was on some meds and you could tell in his demeanor uh he tired a lot of times he just he was like kind of walking it like a zombie just from
You know from taking so much stuff but he was always tired uh I stayed with him at Greensboro and he was napping all the time and you could tell there was just a change and obviously I think taking the meds is if you have to take the meds
Like a lot of people do for seizures you got you know you have to deal with it you know fortunately or unfortunately but luckily the docs thought they could get it out and they did and now they’re kind of weaning them off at all so it’s it’s really good good good outcome well
And he had mentioned too like in his pressor that the side effects were really tough on him as a person right with with the with the meds for for seizures I mean was there anything um that that you you had heard that comes from that like you know yeah they did
Say about being tired being moody um you know agitated I didn’t really notice much of that I mean he’s pretty laid-back anyways it was more of just being tired and not not really being able to put in a lot of a lot of work like he normally does you know you could
Just tell like he’d play nine holes or he’ play 18 he’d be really tired that’s what I noticed most um but they said you know good chance you’re going to be agitated and be emotional but I I didn’t see any of that stuff he doesn’t he didn’t really get too agitated around me
Right and when did you guys start practicing again has it really been in this 10 days in in Hawaii or or what was the timeline like for practice for you guys yeah so I think um I went down right after he probably took well he h
Used to he was hitting some putts in his house right after but I think he started hitting balls I’m not sure but I’d say maybe six weeks he started hitting some chips maybe the two months but it didn’t really get ramped up for probably the last I’d say maybe Thanksgiving
Would be my guess uh I’m not really sure I went down in December and we played uh I went down I guess second week in December weather was awful in South Florida but we we played a few times and they had the Floridian Pro member and
The pine tree Pro member so I was down there for that we got some rounds in and then obviously in Hawaii we played eight or nine times in 10 days and we actually walked one round just because he hasn’t walked at all so he’s still getting his
Energy back which is a big part of it you know starting to train a bit and mentally U mentally I think he’s pretty good actually I think it’s more physical and getting back into the flow yeah and and I know you’re former player obviously you you were Pro in
Your own right at at one point um before you started catting for Mike Weir are you guys playing games on the course you know what I mean to keep Gary sharp like how do you guys get competitive with each other when you play yeah we play he gives me a couple
Strokes aside and uh wey was over there and then we had we had some guys fill in different times we play a Skins game or you know one of the guys we play with will play A Team game but yeah Gary and I we always play a little games keep it
Interesting I I don’t like to play if there’s nothing on the line and you got to make it fun or else it just gets a little boring so what kind of stuff are we talking about being on the line here I mean is it vary like what are we
Talking about no he gives me to a side and we will play for whatever I mean we don’t play for a lot of money but he gives me two strokes aside and it’s kind of a pride thing you know I like to beat him he likes to beat me so it’s it’s
Fun much trash talk come from that like what what’s not really not really I just I like making putts on those guys especially with wezy there too that was fun you know they obviously Gary obviously hits at a heck a lot better than me and and wey actually played
Really well we were there for like I say 10 days and it’s probably the best I’ve seen him play in about 10 years Mike we so uh it was great I mean we had a really good time and it’s we you know we just it’s not super competitive but we
Uh we do have a lot of fun yeah you’re in Hawaii over New Year I mean how could it not be fun right yeah it’s good as it gets man um was there a time when you thought I know Butch Haron mentioned that he felt like you know in a Doug
Ferguson story he mentioned that you know I knew old Gary Woodland was back when he started uh smack talking with me and saying you know oh the doctor oh yeah what did the doctor say today that I got the biggest brain out there or something like that you know what I mean
Like he knew that’s when old Gary was back so for you in your experience when did you know that that old Gary was back um well I mean I think when I went down to the first time after the Sur he really didn’t do much he was laying
Around and I knew he was in pain I would say when I went down last time um in December and we played some golf and hung out went to dinners and you know that’s when it was you could tell he was getting back to normal then obviously in
Hawaii playing golf every day it was you know back to back to the regular area I would say now it’s just a matter of like I say it’s just a matter of of getting in shape and and physically being able to walk 18 holes I mean he’s only walked
A couple times right so it’s after a long layoff but at the same time you know the physic basically it’s probably good for his body to be able to take I mean because he would not take two months off of playing golf or practicing I mean he can’t take a couple days off
So if there’s anything good that came out of it it was probably a good little uh little time for his body to to heal and recuperate not only his head but the rest of his body yeah he’s just is just by Nature he just it’s hard for him to get away from
From the course and practice huh yeah he loves it I mean he’s home you know he’s got a good place there to practice and he’s always working on something you know he’s it’s not like he he’s bouncing around but he likes he likes working on his game he likes he’s
Got some friends down there they play first thing in the morning and practice but yeah he’s not good at taking days off yeah well he’s also really good about like keeping his emotions in check you know what I mean when even at the US Open I you know what I mean he’s not
Showing a lot of his hand you know what I mean that’s that’s Gary that’s been my observation since I’ve seen him you know and pro um in going through something like this have you seen any emotions kind of you know come out of him that
That surprised you or or have you seen a different side of him in that regard uh yeah I think so I’ve seen more emotion I would say um obviously with golf and and playing sports there’s a little bit of uh you don’t want to be weak uh um but I’ve definitely seen
There’s been some emotional times for him that I’ve seen you know knowing that what he’s gone through what he had to deal with and so yeah I have seen a little bit different side a little softer side maybe and what what sticks out there like what um just just him
With his family or vulnerability yeah I know with his family too and and you’re you’re obviously a little more vulnerable when when something like this happens because you really don’t know what the outcome is I mean the outcome was really good but you’re always taking a chance when you’re removing a tumor from
Ahead so I I think there was I could tell there was a lot of stress going on and um you know some unknowns I mean it had to be removed and it’s there’s you know a lot of risk involved so I I did see a little bit of
That and you know I’ve seen it too watching the the highlights of the press conference and seeing them talk to some people I mean you know I think he realized he was very very fortunate and I think he’s very appreciative of what he has and and he’s
You know and appreciative of golf and OB obviously fir first and foremost his family you know not only his immediate family but people around him and his and his team and uh and then you know being able to play something that you love to do when you know there’s a possibility
You may not have played golf again yeah yeah it’s pretty I mean it’s pretty heavy stuff I you know to have to go through that and and here here you guys are I mean is it you know like you said he’s kind of it feels like he’s chomping at the bit
Right now huh totally yeah I mean I’m guarantee he’s chomping at the bit and think you need to keep expectations in check I mean he game’s fine um you just have to you know it’ be nice to play two three weeks in a row and get in a flow
But like I say you never know in this game right you make a few putts and get a little confidence and and anything can happen so but I think it’s just great that he’s back and playing and uh you know get on a little bit of a run here
To start the season yeah like any sense of like you know beginning of the year like goals or just you know kind of what he’s expecting I I know you guys aren’t in the Signature Events you are in the majors because of the win at at US Open but like any sense of
That um no I don’t think so I mean I think he obviously wants to win and I think he expects the most for herself and I and you know he can obviously do it so um I think it’s it’s important that he he gets out first of all and plays and and
Starts competing gets the juices flowing and I’m sure that like all the guys out here he’d love to win you know sooner than later but um it’s it’s you know yeah he wants to win and do well and try to get in these Signature Events because I know he don’t like nobody likes
Staying home from those events yeah and we got a bunch of them I think there’s 12 this year uh Bay Hills up there I think pebble’s a signature this year so it’s it’s a different kind of schedule I mean you might be playing some events that uh you know you don’t always
Play Oh totally we were just we’ve talked to guys you know a lot of guys it’s it’s going to be a totally different schedule uh if you don’t get in the signature event so the guys that aren’t any obviously you’re not going to get in Pebble you’re not going to get in
La you’re not going to get in AR’s tournament you’re not going to get in Jack tournament Hartford so it could be almost yeah it could be a totally different schedule than guys who regularly used to play in and you may want to at a tournament or two if you’re
Playing well and you get on a run to try to get in the next few signatures so obviously Gary’s in the in the majors so there’s four they’ll play but for guys that drop out of that top 50 and don’t get in the signatures or the majors then you know your schedule’s
Going to be that opposite of what you probably normally play yeah which is just wild to think you know it says creatures a habit you know what I mean like totally um I was over there we were talking I was talking to Mike last week we were sitting there having dinner and
Gary asked him about the course in Milwaukee you know I C for Mike for 12 years and that tournament I don’t know what year it ended in but there were probably five tournaments in 12 years with Mike that I never went to and Milwaukee’s one of them you know
He’s like how was that course I hear it’s good I’m like I I don’t know and Mike said yeah I did play at my first year he goes I played it once and I said you must have played 2 2000 or 98 before I started catting
Because in 99 through 2 2011 you didn’t play it uh Samson Farms you know in in uh Jackson we never played uh Hartford we never I mean there was a lot there was it’s like Mike played almost the same schedule every year so there was a lot of tournaments I had even been
To man which is kind of weird but yeah anyways it it’s good I mean it’s good for tournaments right tournament get stale the John Deere some of these tournaments they get the same guys guys that don’t want to play before Majors um so I think you’re going to get different fields at different
Tournaments which is great for the game yeah yeah different different look and and different players um you mentioned uh with with Gary that he felt a little you saw some more vulnerability than what you you normally see and and I know he mentioned that he felt fearful for
His life a lot of times right like just that fear and anxiety was on that part of the brain um did you hear much from him or or or what did You observe from him or or hear much from him about those kinds of fears I mean because that’s that that’s real
Stuff you know yeah like I knew about it like I say April and I knew he was having these like seizures and waking up and um I knew about it all and he would tell me about some of the the episodes at night um probably didn’t tell me
Everything but there was you know I I I kind of want to be a keep in the loop is not only as personally but when it came to golf too uh so I did go about a lot of the stuff and you know it just it was
One of those deal things where he started taking the meds to try to deal with it and it just didn’t work very well and then they up the meds a bit and then that’s when he got really tired and it didn’t really sometimes waking up in the middle
Of the night thinking he’s jumping off Bridges and you know crazy stuff so yeah and then when obviously at the end of the year the docs like I think we can get this out you know you obviously have to take a risk but there really want another option because the
Other option wouldn’t be very good at 38 years old staying on Med and and still really not keeping the seizures down it might have helped a bit but it if if the seizures had have totally gone away and he was okay and just had to deal with little tiredness
He you know my guess is he probably would have done it for a while to see but they just weren’t working yeah and did he have any like Panic moments on on a golf course at all whether in practice whether in a round like did you kind of sense any of
Anything like that or no I didn’t I mean not really no he was I think most of it was at night uh like I say he was a little more mellow when he started taking the medicine but he did there was no you know raage rages or any kind of
Seizures that that uh happened that I was like oh boy you know what’s that there was none of that yeah he he did say this week that he’s he’s excited to be back with the guys it’s really does a lot of good for him to seeing all the guys again like
What have you observed in the camaraderie again with with tour players and and your guy oh yeah totally I did work one week in the offseason seu Kims caddy I was had hip surgery so I worked out in SE Island so it was good to see everyone yeah it’s always good to hang
Out with the guys I mean that’s you know you hear that from many pro athletes when they retire you know it’s not necessarily the the well they no one wants to train and when you’re 40 years old to try to come back and play but they miss hanging out with the guys
So you know here you kind of live two different lives right you have your life at home with your friends at home and then you’ve got all the guys out here so you know it’s always good to get back and see everybody and hang
Out get back in the mix yeah I know Todd Lewis on Golf Channel was saying that if there’s a Strokes gained hugs category that Gary would have it this week right and you saw a lot of those interviews like what you know what have you observed in those exchanges R you know
You mentioned run into Ricky and and some of these other guys like what like what have you kind of picked up from those exchanges everyone’s been great I mean guys that you know obviously he’s got a lot of coose friends that text with him all the time and he sees down
In Florida but there’s been a lot of guys come up to him that you know he’s cordial with that have been really really sincere and just saying hey you know it’s great to see you back I’m glad you know know he’s it’s it’s been emotional for him to see everybody come
Up to him give him a hug or say hey you know the Reps and the the rules officials you everybody’s come by this week and said that to them which has been really really touch you wow and like you said like he’s he’s been externally like emotional that and you
Know as they come up I guess it sounds like right yeah I mean I I you know yeah he has I mean everybody brings it up and it’s uh I’m sure it brings back some memories of what could have or some memories of what could have happened and
Uh he’s yeah I mean it’s it’s it’s mostal it’s just nice to see guys that really that care right I mean you’re out there competing but at the end of the day it’s like a big family so it it’s it’s nice to see everybody come by and I
Mean Gary’s always been one of the well-liked guys out here and he’s he’s a super nice guy so you know he’s got a lot of good friends but it’s nice to see everybody come by yeah um he did oh yeah get him get he’s back in the in the fold get him uh
Getting it feel nor hopefully feels normal again right you want want things to just get back on track right yeah I think it’s I think he’s pretty much back on track uh you know it’ be nice to see him play some good golf over here to start off the year and
Make you know get everything back on track but yeah know I think everything’s fine he’s he’s uh his game’s in good form uh mentally I think he’s in really good form so should be exciting yeah any is there an anecdote that sticks out from these last few months like whether
Like said you mentioned have dinner with Mike Weir even last week and uh different things with Gary anything kind of that will stick with you from this experience um I think a lot will really I mean I think seeing him when I went down after a surgery just kind of laying around and
You know I when I talked to him on the phone he was like yeah he sounded a lot better um then when I went down there I kind of realized well he didn’t really do anything we just sat there and watched some sports and talked and I played with
The kids a little bit and I went and played golf with his buddy one day but he he was a lot worse than I thought he was going to be that was probably 10 to two weeks after the surgery you know and that’s when I kind
Of realized okay this is I mean I knew was I thought it was more serious than probably I he did talking to him I mean just the fact that you know you are having a tumor remov from your head but I think at that point that was a that
Was a pretty emotional moment just seeing how down he really was um he had a lot of pain in his head and he didn’t do much and then honestly just see you know seeing him get better playing golf in December talking to him all the time and just seeing the Improvement was was
Great um you know I’ve kind of seen it from day one from when the time fell apart there in April and he found out about it the emotions of that all the way to now so it’s been a good roller coaster ride yeah and speaking of finding out
About it like I know he’s he call himself a very upbeat positive guy and and he described his attitude as being very he’s had a terrible attitude you know when he found out about it initially and um I don’t know like in terms of a low point you know did did
Some anything stick out there in those initial uh you know April window that you saw no he was fine he said he was negative but no he was never really he’s never really negative around me I think he might be a little hard on himself
When he says that um you know he says him you know when he took the meds he goes hey I could be really emotional I could be moody I could be irritated but he’s never that bad um you know I think there was a lot of unknowns for him I
Think there was a lot of worrying just not really uh then they you know they were monitoring it with MRIs and and doing different things so I I think there’s just a lot of the unknowns which get your stresses you out and I think he you
Know for the each month he wasn’t he wasn’t really sure what he was going to do right he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay on the meds if he was going to have the tumor removed if the tumor was growing so there were just so many
Questions that you know you and I as we all know it’d be hard to just go to bed and relax but he I don’t think he was down on I mean he might have been down on himself but he never he never I don’t think so I think he’s just being hard on
Himself he also said there’s a lot of good in this world what a takeaway for him from something like this right and and he said that it’s overwhelming um how good people have been to him in all of this like what have you seen from from that that
Emotion yeah totally like I say you know he his family obviously his friends everybody around him I think everybody’s been great everybody’s supportive uh you know sometimes it takes something like this to to change your perspective in life too I mean when you’re a really good athlete you do it
You always think that you’re going to play good golf and you know life’s going to be great and then you have a big setback and you kind of sit back and realize that you know things can happen to me too so I I think for him he kind
Of got to a spot that he wasn’t sure he was going to play golf again when his last tournament might have been you know greensbor is that it and then once he turned the corner and realized okay everything’s going to be good I think it
Uh you know now he has a little second a different Outlook and you know I’m sure he’ll want to take advantage of it because he wasn’t sure he was going to have this chance Hey listen appreciate your time thanks thanks for making it happen to
Yeah you got it anytime bro okay you it see you bye
