Unseen mental health issues beneath PGA Tour’s happy face

Steve Wheatcroft is a former professional golfer who woefully satisfied the moniker of “journeyman” during his 17 years playing on the PGA Tour and its affiliate tours. Wheatcroft, who played college golf at Indiana University, turned pro in 2001 at age 32, and left professional golf in 2019 to work as a financial advisor.

During the next five years Wheatcroft’s life slowly and gradually spiraled downward and eventually out of control due to depression and alcohol dependency. In September 2024 he appeared on “Golf Central” (a Golf Channel program) to openly discuss his battles with alcohol and depression. In his 2025 raw memoir, “Cocktails and Range Balls: One’s Too Many, Ten’s Not Enough,” Wheatcroft bares his darkest moments as well as a light of hope.

When we read about PGA Tour players making gobs of money playing a game, and then watch them on television showing off skills that seem magical compared to our meager and hacking attempts with a club and a ball, we have difficulty imagining the struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse they might be having.

But lately, those struggles seem more apparent for more individuals. PGA Tour veteran Chris Kirk (not a journeyman) found himself sinking deeper and deeper into alcohol dependency.

“I got caught in a trap (several) years ago,” Kirk says, “where I was on the road a lot by myself missing my family and dealing with it in really pretty terrible ways.”

Kirk enrolled in a 12-step program after announcing a break from pro golf in 2019. Six months after taking his sabbatical Kirk came back to the Tour, in many ways physically and mentally refreshed and sober.

The story of PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray is a sad and complex one. [See my Bulletin column of Jan. 3, 2025.] Murray had struggled for several years with problem gambling, depression and alcohol abuse. After winning the Sony Open in Oahu in January 2024 he announced his plans to marry his fiancée. But his demons wouldn’t let him be, On May 25, 2024, Murray took his own life.

Substance abuse takes many forms. In the case of Tiger Woods, he has had his own struggles with substance misuse. The problem has led to a number of incidents involving motor vehicles dating back 17 years. On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009 Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and tree at 2:30 a.m. after leaving his home in Isleworth just outside Orlando.  

In May of 2017 Woods was found passed out behind the wheel of his Mercedes Benz on the side of the road around 3 a.m. in Palm Beach Gardens. He was arrested and charged with a DUI and was found to have prescription drugs in his system. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving, and his DUI charges were dropped.

In February 2021 Woods was in a serious single car crash in suburban Los Angeles on his way to a photo shoot The SUV went off the road and rolled several times. Woods sustained serious injuries requiring multiple surgeries on his lower right leg. Investigators noted that Woods was driving between 84 and 87 mph on a road with speed limit of 45 mph. No charges were filed.

In March 2026 Woods was driving to his home in Jupiter Island, Florida when he clipped the rear left corner of a trailer carrying a large exterior container of fluid causing his Range Rover to flip on his driver’s side.

Woods was not injured but he was arrested for DUI; he was not drunk, but it was determined he had substances (probably pain medication) in his system. He was held in Martin County jail for eight hours. Woods disclosed recently he was starting treatment for addiction to pain killers which he will attend offshore.

It is unknown how many PGA Tour players are experiencing serious mental health issues. Personally, I suspect it is more than anybody realizes. The PGA Tour does offer a range of mental health resources for its players, caddies and affiliated tours, including a clinical psychologist on call.