Why is it when I come off my busiest off-week of the year, I have my best playing week of golf? I guess I am built to be a busy person! So many people have asked me what led to such a good result in Springfield (T13 – rounds of 71, 71, 69, 65). To be honest there are numerous reasons.
First, I am so lucky to have such a great sponsor in Go Daddy. Bob Parsons gave me a wonderful pep talk in the off-week. He told me he believes in me and knows I can do this. I cannot tell you how great that feels. It’s so important to have that kind of support and he really made me feel he was behind me 100%.
Second, I put a call into my sports psychologist Bob Rotella. He reminded me that I play best when I am having fun. He said I play the worst when I grind and spend too much time at the golf course. This was such great advice. I flew into Springfield Tuesday afternoon and I only saw about 12 holes of the course and just practiced a little. I rested, had fun and surprise, surprise I got results! It’s so funny how I can make the game so hard for myself. I’ve watched what other top players were doing and tried to mimic them, but it just doesn’t work. I have to prepare in a way that makes me feel good and that is definitely not grinding out there for days on end.
Thirdly, I went back to basics with my swing. With so many off-weeks this year I had been getting too mechanical. I was trying to get my swing into a better position. For some reason I couldn’t trust this new position under pressure. I finally decided I don’t care what it looks like as long as I can hit it where I want. And that I did! It was so fun to hit punch shots, draws, fades and know that I could trust it. In Springfield my confidence and mental trust grew with each round. Last week was so fun to be near the top of the leader board. I am also excited that I shot my career low round 65 in the final round!
As my coach Ron Stockton says “Anna, champions go low on Sundays.” I like the sound of that!
Don’t forget to tune into the McDonalds LPGA championship this week!
Anna
