The Mental Toughness takeaways from 2013 Masters were from the two Aussies, Jason Day & Adam Scott.
Jason Day made three consecutive birdies on the 13th, 14th, & 15th. His tap-in birdie on the 15th captured the lead (momentarily) by 2 shots. What happened next were tough back-to-back bogies on 16 & 17.
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He was honest afterwards and admitted that the pressure got to him. Pressure gets us out of our normal, automatic routine. If we even think “do what your doing, stay relaxed, etc.” we are already doing something different.
In golf, pressure makes fast players slow down and slow players speed up.
Jason Day, a fast player, became very deliberate in his pre-shot routine that he slowed down. You could now see him focused on his breathing and really visualizing his shot. He got out of his normal routine.
Adam Scott, the first Aussie winner of the Masters, provided the other mental toughness example. He made nothing with the putter all day long. His lone birdie at the 3rd was the only birdie with his putter all day. He kept hitting great shots, and missing the putt. Twitter even began to blow up with the jokes about his putting.
Never forget it only takes one!
What he did however was he kept himself in it, hanging around, giving himself opportunities. He then made it when it mattered the most! The birdie putt on the 72nd hole was iconic, and the birdie during the playoff on the 10th was the finisher.
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Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach. DRB & Associates based in Indianapolis works with athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness. His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness was recently released. Follow on twitter @drrobbell or contact drrobbell@drrobbell.com