Golfer to be followed by security at Masters after PTSD diagnosis: 'I thought people were trying to kill me'
A golfer at The Masters will be followed around the course at Augusta National by his own personal security detail.
The 2026 Masters Tournament gets underway on Thursday, with a field of 91 players set to take part.
Among them is 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland, who received an invite via winning the Texas Children's Houston Open last month.
It was Woodland's first victory on the PGA Tour since his US Open success, and his first since undergoing surgery on a benign brain tumour in September 2023.
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While the surgery was successful, the tumour could not be fully removed and has since caused residual side-effects, including anxiety and hypertension, as it presses against the part of the brain which is responsible for controlling fear and emotions.
In March, Woodland revealed that he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
He told Golf Channel that he had received the formal diagnosis around a year previously, explaining that hypervigilance - where someone is extremely alert or cautious, especially around groups of people - is one of his side-effects.
"A walking scorer startled me, got close to me close from behind," he recalled. "I pulled my caddie and said, 'You can't let anybody get behind me'.
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"Next thing you know, I couldn't remember what I was doing. My eyesight started to get blurry.
"It was my turn to hit and I couldn't hit. Butch [caddie] said, 'Let's go in'. I said, 'No man, I'm here for these guys. I want to fight through this'.
"I went into every bathroom to cry for the rest of the day. When I got done, I got in my car and got out of there.
"There are days when it's tough - crying in the scoring trailer, running to my car just to hide it. I don't want to live that way anymore."
For his opening two rounds of The Masters - and, hopefully for Woodland, into the weekend - the 41-year-old has been able to negotiate additional security detail who will follow him around the 18 holes at Augusta National.
During a pre-Masters press conference, Woodland revealed that he thought that people in the crowd 'were trying to kill me' during the latter stages of his second round at the Texas Children's Houston Open.
"It's a big week for me this week," he told journalists. "The fans are very close on the tee boxes. There's a lot going on.
"There's probably not a safer golf tournament in the world, so I'm happy for that, but it's still a battle in my head if I'm safe or not. That's a tough pill to swallow.
"When I was diagnosed with this brain tumour three years ago, my No.1 thought was: I wasn't going to let this thing win.
"I've dreamed of being a professional athlete since I was a little kid, and I would do everything in my power to live that dream for my childhood self."
Ryan Smart