He didn’t flinch as he pumped three bullets in Osama bin Laden’s head — but give him a golf club and his nerves fray.
“Golf’s more stressful than combat,” decorated Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill joked to a Post reporter Friday.
The 38-year-old redhead from Montana said a Navy shrink suggested he take up the precision sport as a way to deal with post-traumatic stress from the May 2011 raid on bin Laden’s compound, in which he says he fired the fatal shots.
“The last psychiatrist I spoke to recommended golfing to relieve stress — and that’s a bad idea,” O’Neill said during an interview at Midtown’s Tuscany Hotel.
O’Neill, who is known as “the Shooter” for his role on SEAL Team Six, wanted to keep a low profile after killing the world’s top terror lord, but, he says, “it was a big secret to keep.”
The career soldier even skipped a breakfast last year for families of 9/11 victims because he feared he would be outed.
O’Neill finally met with the widows and family members of the World Trade Center attacks in September and donated his combat shirt to the 9/11 Memorial.
“When I saw the healing, I came to the realization that it’s bigger than me,” he said. “It’s irresponsible of me to try not to help more families.”
O’Neill’s big reveal has led to a post-military career as a motivational speaker and an advocate for veteran rights — even at a risk to him and his family.
“I’ve assumed risks before, and I’m going to do it again because this is worth it,” he said.
O’Neill, who lives in DC, traveled around New York with a full security detail.
After 16 years of service — including the “Captain Phillips” rescue off the Somalia coast — he struggled to transition to private life.
“I had to figure out what to do to keep food on the table, keep the lights on and stuff,” he said.
He has started a site to raise money for ex-soldiers called YourGratefulNation.org.
“I think that everyone that does transition, they should be as successful as possible,” he said. “If they can use their past for future success, I think they should.”