Anderson never did get to the 18th tee because the storm forced tournament officials to suspend play. While the heart monitor's readout actually proved that Anderson was under more stress on the golf course than in the operating room, he largely dismisses the results of this test. If you can't sleep at night because you're worrying about your job, that may be mental stress. But if you're walking briskly on the golf course, that's physical stress. You can't control the physical stress, but you can control the mental stress.
Most people think of stress as a very harmful thing.
One of the ways Anderson has learned how to control the mental stress while playing golf is to take slow, deep breaths, he said. Playing in a tournament is not at all like playing a typical round of golf, he said. So I was probably feeling more nervousness than stress. A tournament also raises the level of competitiveness, Anderson said. As to why his heart rate peaked at 111 on the 17th hole, Anderson said that not only had he had a couple of cups of coffee after playing the first nine holes, but seeing lightning over the course was definitely not very comforting.