Padraig Harrington came to the final hole of the 2007 British Open with a 1 shot lead over Sergio Garcia and his first major victory clearly in sight. After hitting the ball six more times, Padraig had shot a double bogey and ended up one stroke behind Garcia who still had the 18th hole to play. Now, Sergio had the possibility of victory in his sight. However, Sergio missed his par putt and Harrington bested Garcia in a 3 hole playoff to claim his first major victory.
Flash Forward to the 2008 PGA Championship. Sergio comes to the 17 hole with in a tie with Padraig Harrington for the championship. His tee shot on the Par 3 lands on the green and rolls to within 10 feet of the cup. Harrington's tee shot lands on the opposite side of the green but further away from the hole than Sergio's shot. Harrington, being outside of Garcia, goes first and rolls his putt into the heart of the cup. He now has a 1 shot lead over Garcia. Garcia's putt rolls towards the hole but misses by a few inches. Harrington now has a 1 stroke lead over Garcia going into the 18 hole. After Harrington pars the last hole and Garcia bogeys the hole, Harrington earns his 3rd major championship in 6 tries.
In each of the above cases, Sergio Garcia had a putt to either win the championship outright or to continue to put pressure on his opponent. In each case, his misstep cost him the championship and further enhanced his choker image. What can Sergio do to improve his situation? I believe that he needs to contact a sports psychologist and begin to find out what is causing him to tense up in these situations. Find out what is the reason for his missteps. Once he does that then I believe that you will see Sergio rip off a string of majors in a row.
On Sunday night, after a golf tournament has been won, the announcers will always replay a moment that they believed turned the tournament in the winner's favor. Here are some typical examples of those types of moments:
Shooting a round at par or better when you do not have your best game
Making a par putt after putting yourself in a bad position off the tee and having to lay up with your second shot
Making a birdie putt of 70 inches or more that you were just trying to lag.
Seeing your tee shot head towards the water hazard and then having the ball take a miraculous bounce and land in the fairway.
Following up a bad double bogey with a great birdie or eagle
