Lessons on Gravity at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open
Rickie Fowler is the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open Champion! In the final round, he hit many bumps in the road, including an unfortunate tangle with gravity. On hole #11, after chipping it into the water (yes, more on that in a moment), he dropped his ball on the bank, and went up to survey his next chip. While up on the green, gravity sucked his ball back into the water. Another penalty shot. Unreal! This hole and Rickie’s entire round were seemingly spiraling out of control.
Rickie has some demons on this golf course. In 2016, he lost in a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama. Again, his ball found the water at a critical time. Once in regulation on #17, then again on the same hole, seven holes into a thrilling playoff. Rickie was emotional after the playoff loss but more so for sentimental reasons, rather than losing. His Dad and Grandpa were there in person to watch Rickie play. Neither have seen him win on the PGA Tour firsthand.
Knowing Rickie’s history at the Phoenix Open makes his epic showcase of grit and patience absolutely awe inspiring. His guts were on display when experiencing such misfortune, he turned around and made a 15 foot putt to save triple bogey on #11.
Watch this 3 1/2 minute video of his hole -- crazy!
LESSONS FROM RICKIE….
1. Did you see what the water did to his ball????? One, it had no spin because of all the water between the club face and ball (CLEAN YOUR GROOVES!!! The same science applies with dirt in the grooves). And two, the ball also hydroplaned across the water on the green.
2. Watch Rickie’s BODY LANGUAGE after the really unfortunate bad luck with his ball falling back into the water. Rickie was assessed another penalty shot for his ball falling back into the water. Note, this is not a new 2019 USGA Rules of Golf. He stayed in COMPLETE control of his emotions. He did the best he could with the cards dealt to him. There was no COMPLAINING and no BLAMING -- he moved onto the next shot, and put it behind him -- QUICKLY! High performers in any realm find a way to adjust, without much disruption. They identify experiences that are in and out of their control. Gravity in this instance, was uncontrollable for Rickie, and he kept his emotions in check because of this uncontrollable twist of fate.
3. Change your thought process if you think a round has to be PERFECT to win golf tournaments! Things often don't go as planned, and it really comes down to staying competitive with your B or even C game. How quickly one is able to bounce back from adversity is a sure sign of a true champion.
Note -- the last two PGA TOUR winners (Justin Rose at Torrey Pines & Rickie Fowler) were 2 over par after 5 holes in the final round. Read that sentence again!! They found a way to reset after some bad breaks/adversity and stayed in their process and game plan.
In both cases, Justin and Rickie used the words PATIENCE, STICK TO THE GAME PLAN and PROCESS when describing to reporters how they handled the adversity. The best players in the world are working on patience all the time -- and it's why we as coaches are always preaching this skill. In Rickie’s post round interview when asked how he handled the extremely bad luck, he stated the following:
“I put it behind me.” — (he can’t control what just happened, and he can’t change it).
“I focused on picking small targets with my caddie.” — (focused on what he can control moving forward).
“I told myself that if on Thursday someone would have told me that I would have a chance to win with 7 holes to play, I'd be pretty darn excited -- so make the best of these 7 holes".” — (he RE-FRAMED the entire situation — instead of dwelling on the past, he made the most of his current situation).
If you’d like to hear the interview in it’s entirety, click HERE.
How about that for moving on!!??!!
And the best part of it all? Rickie’s family was back at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to witness firsthand his 5th PGA Tour win. And you better believe Dad and Grandpa were there too.
**PGA Tour App has complete post round press conference coverage of the weekly winner. If you are interested in hearing insight from the best players in the world, this is a wonderful (free!) resource.