ESPN shares behind-the-scenes look at Gary Woodland’s recovery from brain surgery

The Masters tees off Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, and former KU golfer Gary Woodland is a long shot to win, according to betting line from CBS Sports.

Not that it should matter to Woodland, the Topeka native. In a way, Woodland has already beat the odds by simply returning to golf. Woodland had surgery just last year to remove a lesion on his brain.

ESPN took viewers inside Woodland’s journey from diagnosis to surgery to recovery in a video that was reported by Jeff Darlington.

“I’m like, if this goes wrong, I’m dead,” Woodland said when asked about what he thought before the surgery. “What if I never play golf again? What if I can’t hold my kids again?”

At one point, Woodland wrote letters to his wife, , and their three kids. They were to be opened only if he didn’t survive the surgery.

Fortunately, the surgery was a success, although doctors cut a huge hole in his head, which left him with a massive scar. But he practiced golf at home while recuperating and he’ll be back at the Masters this week.

“I’m out here, six months from surgery,” Woodland says in the video. “Dreams do come true.”

This is a great look at Woodland’s journey.