I hate the word Choke, but the reality is this, EVERYONE HAS CHOKED. Wait, not everyone, just those who have been successful. You have to be in it to win it – No one in 35th place has ever choked.
Rory McIlroy is a Hall of Fame golfer and 4x Major Winner. He does not need to do anything more and he’s in the Hall of fame…Nonetheless,
Here’s How Rory McIlroy Choked at The U.S. Open
(Photo by Richard Washbrooke/News Images)
So here’s how it happened~Here’s how Rory McIlroy choked.
But, please note, I’m a fan of Rory, and want this future Hall of Fame golfer to have another Major win!
Choking- Suboptimal performance given one’s skill level where incentives for optimal performance are at a maximum (Beilock & Carr, 2001).
This isn’t just a bad play but more of an event that takes place under high-pressure situations. Again, you have to be in it to win it.
There are a lot of theories about the anatomy of a choke. But this following theory holds true time and time again.
Catastrophe Theory- All performers have an optimal range of arousal under pressure circumstances. Pressure is a privilege. When arousal gets too high, it turns into anxiety and then there can be an extreme drop-off in performance or a “catastrophe” (Hardy, 1990). That’s why Rory’s loss was considered “calamitous.” A two-shot lead with five holes to play…
The catastrophe is caused by one error or mistake which leads to another and another, a complete drop-off, or meltdown. And the fallout from a big loss is painful.
Rory McIlroy was 496/496 on putts inside of 3-feet the entire season on the PGA Tour. After the U.S. Open concluded, he was was at 99.7% of putts from that distance. He missed his first putt of the entire season at the 16th hole. And it led to a collapse, which resulted in a missed putt at the 18th as well. How Rory McIlroy choked was the poor missed putt on 16 and caused a lack of confidence and belief in the last putt of the day and that was the collapse.
How Rory McIlroy choked at The U.S. Open is that he merely got away from his pre-putt routine and the moment got away from him. There was probably a thought that popped in the head over the putt, such as ” don’t miss it” or more likely, a mechanical thought with a poor focus on the speed of the putt or just not completely trusting it and letting it go.
It’s hard to imagine that choking in sports can happen to the best in the game, but how Rory McIlroy choked was the enormity of the wanting it so bad! He has wanted to win another Major, for over ten years now that it got too big. He has mentioned how he would have given up 100 Sundays to have another major. This is just evident of the weight of the moment and how it caused even the best in the world to not execute at the most important time. We hope Rory can simply Puke & Rally!
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Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology Coach. DRB & associates coach executives and professional athletes. Some clients have included three different winners on the PGA Tour, Indy Eleven, University of Notre Dame, Marriott, and Walgreens.
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