Tom Watson nearly did win the Open Championship - Fitness and Mental Toughness

Tom Watson at 59 nearly became the oldest man ever to win a major golf championship. If he had sunk that putt of about 10ft for a par on the very last hole he would have done so. But he didn't. He was then involved in a play-off with Stewart Cink over 4 holes on the tough Turnberry course. Was he mentally tough enough?

Now Watson was in the last pairing out so after submitting his card he was back out on the course - no rest (which can be both a good or a bad thing). Cink had finished around 30 minutes before hand. Physically and mentally Watson would have been tired. He knew he should have sunk that putt but it was a pressure putt that got to him so it was and looked like a lamentable effort. Psychologically he would be down and Cink who had been presented with an opportunity to win would be up. At Watson's age (and I should know), it would have made him feel even more tired. He had either led or been there or thereabouts for the entire competition, Cink had not. To lead and win does require mental toughness. Cink had not had any of this pressure but had worked himself into a good position which it turned out had then given him the opportunity for a chance at the title. To get this someone else had to make a mistake, an error, a lapse of concentration - in this case Watson.

Cink was not going to let an opportunity like this go easily - he was up for it. Any tiredness he felt would have disappeared and ..... he was over 20 years younger. Physically this would make a difference but the psychological impact would make this difference larger. How Watson really fetl, only he would know. My take is that having done all this before (he's a 5 times major winner), it was just too much. He had really enjoyed himself, bantered with the crowd and the press but a playoff was now serious. I think he really fancied his chances and thought he could win but on his terms, ie. to just go and enjoy it but now he had to pull out all the stops and I don't think he really wanted to. He was tired and had had a great time. His game disappeared in that play-off and as I have read today many observers felt like it was watching a funeral. I'm sure Tom didn't see it like that and probably most of his thinking wasn't too conscious either so he would have been a little taken aback at the way his rock solid swing disappeared so markedly. I also guess he felt a little bad about not making more of a fight of it. All in all he had nothing to lose; he's still a legend and one of the greatest players golf has seen.

Although Cink is the winner of the claret jug, and history will see him as such, it was Watson's to lose and he lost it. The pressure is always on the leaders and none of them could deal with it - Fisher, Goggin and  most notably Westwood of the serious contenders. It had made me think of those goflers that can lead from the front and go on to win. Only Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus come to mind though ironically Watson at his peak saw off Nicklaus in 1977 for the Open at ..... Turnberry!

So unless you know you are mentally tough (or tough enough) perhaps the best strategy is to be a couple of shots behind coming up the stretch and wait for the leaders to buckle. It worked for Cabrera at the Masters this year!
Of course this is not recommended and I guess just as hard, if not harder to stay a couple of shots behind and then produce blinding golf for the last couple of holes, then hope the leaders cock it up. The best approach is to work on your mental toughness so you have a chance of dealing with this kind of pressure or at least get it assessed (MTQ48) - preferably by a sports psychologist:
http://www.istadiashop.com/product-1361-Mental-Toughness.aspx


Keith

Keith Irving
iStadia