Ernie Els gets mental game in synch
As many people will know, I’ve been working on and off over the past two years with the famous sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella. At the start of last week, having made an early exit in the Accenture, I decided to have a talk with Dr Bob, just to see if I could regroup and maybe clear my mind. He knows me and he knows what I’m like. I think trying to win those tournaments and get better had maybe made me a little bit uptight, so we had a chat about a few things and tried to work on getting me a bit more relaxed. I felt like it helped. You know, I felt like my old self out there again.
I said before the start of the Honda Classic that a win is what I needed in order to really kick-start my year, so this couldn’t have come at a better time. Being up there last week, in the mix, feeling the heat and knowing that I can pull off the shots under pressure, that is what it’s all about. It’s amazing what a win does for your confidence.
More from Big Easy
3 Comments:
I Don’t Understand ErniePosted in March 8th, 2008 | Editby Commish in General, The 19th Hole
A week after coming off of fine performance and a stellar win at the Honda Classic, how is it possible that Ernie Els doesn’t make the cut and shoots 4-over-par for the two rounds. It’s inconceivable to me how a golfer with his talents and aspirations to regain the world’s number one ranking can post such a poor performance. World’s number one’s simply don’t miss cuts in sub-par fields as is the one at the Pod’s.
In my opinion, Ernie is spending too much time on his swing and off the tee with David Leadbetter, which are really dialed in….but clearly his short-game has taken a back seat in his preparation, and it shows. Tournaments can not be won with 6-8 footers for par. They can’t. Els isn’t approaching the greens with the deadly accuracy required to win events. Up and down for par all the time, missed fairways, and fewer than 5 greens in regulation will never get it done on any level of the game.
We’ll soon see if Els can address the issues in his game that are keeping from remaining in the top teer of golf’s immortals.
Hey Sheldon, were you aware that Ernie announced on Friday that his 5 year old son has autism? Going public with that information was a big decision for the Els family and one that was probably on his mind the whole time. He's been dealing with it for the last few years and looking for the best treatments all over the world for him. I think that also has everything to do with why Ernie hasn't won a tournament in 3 years also. There have been more pressing things to do with his time. I thought it was great to see him playing well and win one again, and occasionally...great players miss cuts. I believe we'll be seeing a lot more of Ernie on Sundays this year.
Hey Ace it,
I'm well aware of Ernie's child's condition, and it is a tragedy. However, I feel as though he was aware of the condition, or that something was wrong with his child before he took the microphone and started making declarations of winning majors and regaining the world's number one ranking. He didn't have to do that...that was all on him.
Furhermore, Els has publicly stated that his boating injury to his knee caused him to make a subconscious swing change favoring the pain, causing inconsistencies in his ball striking, accuracy, and distance control.
Tiger played through watching his father's health rapidly deteriorate and it clearly affected his game. Were you or anyone aware of what a nasty divorce Vijay Singh went throught last year? Enough to make his scoring and performance drop off from a peak performance. However, neither made statements like Els of "this is my year," or "majors," or "number 1 in the world" while dealing with personal issues.
Post a Comment
<< Home