MANAGING THE PRESSURE OF THE MOMENT:

When is a choke actually a choke?

This past Father’s Day weekend, many golf enthusiasts sat in front of their television sets and watched Bryson DeChambeau win the 2024 U.S. Open. The impressive victory was DeChambeau’s 2nd U.S. Open win in 5 years and confirmation that he knows how to manage the pressure of the moment. Another story line from this year’s U.S. Open final round was Rory McIlroy’s collapse over the last 4 holes of the event. Leading the tournament at 8-under par on the 15th tee, with a one-shot lead over DeChambeau, McIlroy proceeded to play the next 4 holes three over par. Worse yet, McIlroy missed two 3-foot putts on holes #16 and #18 to seal his fate and have many label the moment as one of golf’s greatest chokes.

In my book Easier Said than Done, I dedicate a full chapter to pointing out the difference between a choke and a weak link breaking under pressure. A choke is a time when the pressure of the moment is too big mentally, and the player does not possess the mental skills needed to sustain his/her performance. Conversely, a weak link breaking under pressure is a time when a weakness in ball-control (e.g., putting, driving, chipping) is exposed and accentuated, because that poorly developed physical or technical skill can’t withstand the pressure of the moment.

Examples of such weak link collapses include those of Greg Norman and Dustin Johnson. At the Masters in 1996, leading Nick Faldo by six shots heading into the final Sunday, Greg Norman ultimately lost to Faldo by five shots – an 11-shot swing. Furthermore, Norman entered the 9th hole leading by three, but then went bogey-bogey-bogey, double bogey to trail by two. The two shots that cost Norman most were the iron shots he hit on hole Nos. 12 and 16, both par 3s. Each one found the water and resulted in a double bogey, costing Norman four vital strokes. A look at his season stats for that year found that Norman ranked just 149th on the PGA Tour in greens hit in regulation (63.6 percent)—a weak link for sure.

Dustin Johnson had a similar collapse in the 2015 U.S. Open — three-putting from 12-feet on the final hole of the 2015 U.S. Open—missing a 4-foot birdie putt that would’ve propelled him into an 18-hole Monday playoff. Interestingly, Johnson ranked 177th out of 200 PGA Tour players in putting from 4 feet. Furthermore, from 3-5’, he ranked 174th and from 4-8’ 133rd.

So was Johnson’s collapse really a “mental” choke or was it more likely a case of the weakest part of his game breaking under the pressure of the moment?

To Johnson’s credit, over the next few years, he shored up his putting skills, improving his overall putting ranking to 28th and his putting from 4ft ranking to 39th. Johnson’s commitment to continuous improvement resulted in him subsequently winning 3 Major Championships.

 So, let’s get back to Rory McIlroy. Was his collapse this past weekend also a weak link breaking under pressure? Here are a few key McIlroy stats heading into this year’s Open:

Obviously, all evidence suggests that McIlroy had done the skill development necessary to put his ball-control skills in a position to win a major. Can you believe that heading into the U.S. Open, McIlroy ranked #1 in 3-foot putting, having made 100% of his 3-footers (457 makes out of 457 attempts). So, when is a choke actually a choke? This is when! It is when someone so skilled misses two 3-foot putts in the final three holes in a Major Championship. Now I don’t mean to disparage McIlroy when I say this. Choking simply demonstrates a learning opportunity in mental skill (as opposed to a ball-control skill). Mental skills include skills like attention control, thought control, and intensity management. For PGA Tour players, these skills must be developed and honed at the highest levels, and they are certainly put to the test as players come down the stretch of a major championship.

My point here is that we don’t have to feel embarrassed when we choke. But we do need to interpret the true cause of the choke so that we can adequately address the core weakness and be better prepared to succeed in the future. In the cases of Norman, Johnson, and McIlroy, on the surface they all appeared to succumb to the pressure of the moment. However, Norman’s response was to improve his ball-striking, Johnson’s was to improve his putting skills, and McIlroy’s hopefully will be to address the specific mental skill gaps in his game.

McIlroy would be mistaken to overreact to his “choke” by firing his caddie, changing coaches, swapping out his equipment, or making any other extreme changes to his development plan. However, what he can do is assess and improve specific mental skills.

Did he start attending too much about the outcome and his score coming down the stretch (i.e., attention control)?

Did he have too many errant thoughts bouncing around his head while standing over those 3-footers down the stretch (i.e., thought control)?

Did his intensity levels become too elevated as he was trying to get it into the clubhouse for the win (i.e., intensity management)?

McIlroy has demonstrated the habits of a champion in taking his ball-control skills and fitness skills to the highest levels. I’m confident that he can and will do the same with his mental skills – through coaching, deliberate practice, and continued transfer training during pressure moments.