India, April 9 -- Gary Woodland was playing the back nine at the Houston Open a couple of weeks ago, an event he would ultimately win to secure his return trip to the Masters, when the former US Open champion began to feel what he described as "hypervigilant."

"I battled the last 10 holes," Woodland revealed Tuesday, "thinking people were trying to kill me."

That's not intended to be a joke. The exact opposite, in fact: a powerful admission of Woodland's mental health struggles, and one he hopes will help others dealing with trauma, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in their own lives.

The inner turmoil that Woodland feels even at Augusta National, one of the most bucolic places in the world, has its roots in a scan that uncov...