Performance Under pressure

Golfing's greatest competition has been taking place this year at Sandwich.  The Open Championship is one of the great tests in the sporting calendar.There will be some truly great performances and some surprisingly poor ones.  Already the 2 top ranked players in the world have been eliminated and a 20yr old amateur has held the lead.

So what makes a Claret Jug winning golfer?  Here are a couple of quotes from some famous golfing winners:

• Bobby Jones - Golf is a game that's played on a 5 inch course, the distance between your ears.
• Tom Watson - Talent doesn't make a winner.  Two of the worlds most successful golfer miss more fairways than anyone else.  What you need is tenacity and focus.
• Gary  Player - The harder I practice the luckier I get

Dr Bill Gerrard is a technical consultant for Saracens rugby club, who won the Aviva Premiership this year. Using his performance analysis methodology he looks at two keys aspects:

•  -the ability to make the right decision during a game play and
• - the level of execution of that decision.

The best athletes don't just execute well, they are able to think clearly under the intense pressure of a game and make the right decision at the right time.  I'm reminded of some advice from Master Yoda - Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the present.

PS. I wrote this before the final round, so well done and congrtulations Darren Clarke