Brendan Valdes is one of the golfers hitting the links at the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, North Carolina, this weekend. The tournament is an especially big one for the 23-year-old athlete, as it’s his first PGA Tour appearance since his health issues that began back in January.
While treating his illness, Valdes spent six months without picking up a golf club. But after spending the last three months training, he’s back on the course and ready to see what he can do. Below, we rounded up everything to know about Valdes’ diagnosis, treatment, and how he’s doing now.
What was Brendan Valdes diagnosed with?
Valdes was diagnosed with primary mediastinal lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This form of cancer forms a mass within the mediastinum, “the space in the chest that is beneath the breast bone and between the lungs,” per Mayo Clinic.
The golfer received his diagnosis after going to the emergency room on New Year’s Day. He thought he just had a bad cold or lung infection, but “they did a little CT scan, and they found a nine-centimeter mass in the middle of my chest and, yeah, it was definitely a little bit scary,” he told People.
What treatment did Brendan Valdes have?
Valdes underwent chemotherapy to treat his cancer. He told Golf Digest that he actually gained 30 pounds during treatment, noting, “None of it was muscle, that’s for sure.”
How is Brendan Valdes doing now?
As of June 2026, Valdes is cancer-free. “It was amazing when I got the call because, at that point in time, I knew I could get back into it,” he shared. “I could start working again. I could start playing some golf. I could start moving around.”
The hardest part, he said, has been building his stamina back up. “Just being out there walking 18 used to not feel like much of anything,” he revealed, per Golf Digest. “I’m a younger guy. As soon as I came back, especially during the process, it was tough for me to walk to the mailbox. It’s taken a few months to get back to the point in time where I feel like I’m able to walk 18 holes and not be winded at all.”
In addition to getting back on the course, Valdes is also looking forward to his upcoming wedding to Rachel Gourley The two got engaged in December 2025, just one week before he received his cancer diagnosis.
Valdes and Gourley are tying the knot on November 29, 2026, in Florida, per their wedding website.