Friday at the Masters
If you ever want to see evidence of the effect mentality has on performance, just look at the last two days at Augusta National and compare them to the previous 11 years. It is interesting - to me at least - that Rory McIlroy takes the biggest 36 hole lead in Masters history into the weekend just days after admitting he was mistaken in thinking that the grand slam was his goal. Many philosophers have discussed the idea of ‘mistaken goals’, not least Rudolf Driekurs, who said something that resonated with me during today’s second round:
‘All human behavior is purposeful and aimed at achieving a sense of belonging and significance. When individuals feel discouraged, they adopt "mistaken goals"—faulty beliefs about how to gain this belonging—which lead to misbehavior.’
Isn’t that so mind-bendingly relevant? We can replace the word ‘misbehaviour’ with words of your choice (I like misguided performance) but I think it is a wonderful possible explanation of one man’s eleven year wait for professional fulfilment. As it so often turns out, it wasn’t the accolade that was the biggest prize for the Northern Irishman - it was the culmination of a long journey, from boy to man, and the life lived in between.
Friday was indeed a wonderful day of golf. For somebody who both loves and studies the game, it was a gratifying lesson in what separates the players of golf from those who are excellent at whacking a ball. As pin-high iron shots trickle off greens, dead-centre putts wipe across the face of holes, and all but the most beautifully struck chip shots meander dangerously away from the flag, it becomes clearer and clearer that it is skill that will save you. Power will help, but it’s no good on its own. Rory McIlroy gave the world a solid reminder of the all-round game that has allowed him to remain in the world’s top 10 for an astonishing 800 weeks, showing the kind of Bob Rotella mentality that served him so well last year.
“An amazing end to the round,” was his assessment afterwards, summing up the six birdies in seven holes that saw him build a six shot lead over Patrick Reed and Sam Burns. “I knew I had some chances coming in when I was standing on the 12th tee, but I didn’t think I’d birdie six of the last seven. It just shows what you can do around here.” I know I’m biased, but I would add a little more to that quote. It just shows what you can do around here with a full mental skill set. As he made his way around Augusta National, there were signs of the strategies that had served him so well last year. Solid acceptance of the chaos and the bad breaks was evident throughout; I didn’t see any negative body language, even on the 17th where he duck-hooked his tee shot into the left trees. He operated within his own world and when mistakes came he did not take the ‘hero shot’ option, but acted rationally in the moment. He stayed present. Evidence of this comes with an extraordinary stat: over the first two rounds, he hit zero out of eight fairways on the par 5s and still played them in 7 under.
Seven shots back from Rory sit three European heroes in Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose. They will have their own mental challenge over the weekend, trying to remember that it is not over yet and every shot counts. One further back are Jason Day, Wyndham Clark and Cameron Young, all of whom have won either a major or the flagship Players Championship. The wolves are not quite at the door, but if McIlroy stumbles slightly there are some very dangerous players there, ready to attack. Just think of how the lead chopped and changed with the pressure last year - it was three shots, then no shots, then three shots again, then a playoff. Nothing is ever certain in golf, but there’s no denying that Rory is in the very best of places. For me, this is irrefutable evidence of mental freedom at work; without the crushing weight of mostly his own expectation on his shoulders, the Northern Irishman is playing with a dangerous mindset. He’s present, here and now, taking one golf shot at a time.
Bring on the weekend.
