Monday, June 15, 2009

Winners' Clutch Shots

I watched the end of both of tournaments this weekend, the St. Jude Classic and the LPGA Championship. I was struck by how both winners, Brian Gay at the St. Jude and rookie Anna Nordqvist at the Championship, had phenomenal shots at the end of their tournaments.

Brian Gay hit a shot into a par-3 and on the final hole, both with water on the left. Both shots ended up being close to the hole and he extended his lead by two additional birdies. While Nordqvist finished as well with a shot into the final green and another birdie.

It was great to see how both stayed within their games and their emotions and could win with even bigger margins. They didn't get ahead of themselves and instead stayed focus in hitting good shots to the end.

As amateurs, we may not be able to hit the ball as far and pure, or putt as well as the pros, but one area that we can work on is our mental game. I think if we played our shots without expectation and, therefore, upset about errant shots, our emotions will stay more level, and we'll have better rounds.

Play well!

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