Patrick Reed admitted he was in a “dark place” and “battling for his life” after being warned his recent bout of double pneumonia could prove fatal.
In August, the American was admitted to hospital in Houston, Texas, with the condition.
“I think I was in there for five or six days. I don’t know exactly how long,” said the 2018 Masters champion.
“I don’t remember the exact timeframe I was actually in the hospital, but it felt like an eternity.”
Speaking at East Lake after shooting a two-over-par 72 in the first round of the Tour Championship, the 31-year-old added: “The first couple of days, they were sitting there telling me make sure you text your family quite a bit, talk to your family, because you just don’t know.
“I mean, this is not good. We’re not in a good spot right now.
“With how the hospitals are these days because of Covid, they won’t allow people in there, so it’s only you in there.
“So I’m sitting there and those first two days, the only thing that was going through my mind is I’m not going to be able to tell my kids goodbye. I’m not going to be able to tell them I love them. I’m not going to be able to tell my wife that I love her and give her a hug.
“It definitely puts you in a dark space, especially those first two days. But I’m so happy to have such an amazing team and such amazing doctors that were working with me to get me through it.
“And to think that I’m able to be here and play, I really felt OK. It’s a little frustrating not being able to hit the shots and really feel certain things quite yet, but I took a ton of time off.
“I mean, I was battling for my life. And the good thing is now I can hit the ground running, hopefully.”
Reed, who missed the first two FedEx Cup play-off events, also said he was only playing this week to try to impress United States Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, who will make his six wildcard picks on Sunday for the match against Europe at Whistling Straits from 24-26 September.
“The biggest thing is just making sure I’m healthy and just to see kind of where I’m at,” added Reed, who has won eight points in three previous Ryder Cup appearances.
“And I know by the Ryder Cup, my game’s going to be where it needs to be – as long as I feel like my health is where it needs to be and as long as I feel like I can sustain through rounds of golf.”
