About losing, opinions and quitting: 3 moments of introspection, from 3-star professionals

Tommy Fleetwood meditated on meditation.

While playing at the DP World Tour event in India this week, he was asked if he still practiced yoga, and the popular professional said he had unfortunately stopped. But mental deep dives, an activity he did as a yogi, were still a high priority.

Meditation, he said, had helped him through difficult times. And it played a role this year, one of the best of his career.

“I remember really struggling with my game and being in a bad place,” Fleetwood said. “Now that I’ve had the worst spell in golf that I’ve had, I feel part of – as hard as I worked and all the decisions I made at the time to get my game back, I feel like meditation was a big part of that. Because I really had to rewire my confidence and stuff like that.

“I still do that to this day. I may be a little bit sporadically doing it, but I really feel like it’s a powerful tool and I feel like it’s very, very important. I think there are a lot of goals that I set or visualizations that come in a week or a tournament, or you know, wherever it may be, and I feel like meditation is a big part of that and it helps me a lot.”

Deeper things. That was a theme.

Fleet wood? He also talked about losing. Rory McIlroy? He talked about opinions. Ben Griffioen? He talked about quitting. Kudos to the reporters in India for digging into the moments of introspection.

The exchanges are below, with the questions in italics. And after the questions and answers, here are some additional thoughts.

Tommy Fleetwood on his loss

How do you get up again? I remember watching the St. Jude Classic back then Rosey wonand all the top five finishes, but then winning the FedExCup, how do you do that?

“I think the obvious thing is that whatever happens, I mean, what’s the point of letting it have a negative effect on what happens next?” said Fleetwood. “I mean, it’s just pointless.

“It’s obvious, but then it’s obviously harder to do. I think every time I had to do an interview after something like that happened, I felt like it was very important. I feel the same way as anyone else. I could have grumbled or sulked or been angry. But I really wanted to try to get back on track as quickly as possible and see the positives because there are plenty of things you can kick yourself for. There are plenty of things you can be wrong about. can enter.

“But you’re going to have to play next week or the week after that or the week after that, and there’s absolutely no point in letting anything have a negative impact on what happens next. All those times when I’ve come really close, I’ve had a bad week, and then so many people have that week. There are times when I’ve played tournaments and I’ve been really happy to finish 20th because I had a good Sunday. So there’s so much good, you have to focus on that.”

“Of course there are things I would like to improve on and things I know I might have got wrong, and I will work on those things. I’m not going to lie to myself and say everything was great. I know I did things wrong.”

“But the most important thing for me is to give yourself the best chance every time you play. A positive attitude and a good mindset are very important for that.”

Is it harder now that you won the FedExCup?

“Not really,” Fleetwood said. “I think there are different challenges for everything. When everything goes right, one of the hardest things any athlete has to deal with is your own expectations. You have to manage your own expectations. Like I said, different things have different challenges.”

“You know, I’ve missed winning so many times that I always knew I wasn’t going to let one win change anything. My game is still what it was, you know, the week before Atlanta. And even on Sunday, my game is still the same, even when I walked off the 18th green and I know I have to improve to be the best player I think I can be, and I just want to keep working on that.”

What do you think of the quote: At the FedEx St. Jude Championship earlier this year, Fleetwood led by one shot entering the final round – and finished one shot behind a playoff won by Justin Rose, once again leaving Fleetwood without a win on the PGA Tour. However, two events later he made his breakthrough.

Now we know at least one reason why.

Rory McIlroy on opinions

Congratulations on everything you have achieved in your career so far. You are one of the greatest athletes of our generation, and as you said, be treated like a professional. When you talk about the sports landscape, which is very different from what it is today, do you think that the time is gone when people watched sports purely for fun, just for love, instead of watching sports to have an opinion about the player, about the coach, about everything that happens? I ask this specifically because it is clear after what happened in the Ryder Cup and how the situation has spiraled out of control. Do you think the landscape of watching sports, enjoying sports, has changed to having an opinion?

“Yeah, so I would say it’s a great question,” McIlroy said. “I would say that deep at the core, the essence of watching sports, it’s the realistic reality show that we have. We don’t know the outcome. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s amazing. There’s very little content on TV these days that can actually do that.”

“So my sport will always be what it is, and I think that’s why the majority of sports fans watch it. But yes, there are – you know, you’re starting to see – look, it’s a big business, and big business and money comes from having opinions about things, and the more apples of the eye things are ultimately a good thing, if it can be leveraged in the right way.

“But yeah, it’s definitely changed. If it’s people who watch sports for the gambling aspect and they’re putting money into games, that’s something that’s a changing landscape especially in America. But I think watching sports, whatever that is, at its core is still very pure and it’s still pure competition, and I think that’s an amazing thing.

“But yeah, as an athlete and knowing that you’re going to be criticized for your performance, good or bad or whatever it is, I think at this point in time and in this modern world that – I wouldn’t say it’s a price you have to pay, but yeah, you – it just is what it is.

“I think athletes these days have to do a better job of blocking out the noise. So not going on social media and trying not to read anything about yourself – easier said than done. But I think the more athletes these days, if they can do that, I think it’s better. I think it’s better for their performance. I think it’s better for their mental health, and I think it’s also better for their longevity in any given sport.”

What do you think of the quote: Yes, this is an opinion about an opinion about opinions. With this thought I still think back to what McIlroy said at the Ryder Cup, in the wake of the abusive fan behavior, when he noted that while he had heard a lot of negative comments about him, he didn’t hear much support for the Americans. I think that says a lot.

Ben Griffin on quitting

I imagine quite a few Indian golfers are about to give up. What lesson can you share?

“It’s important to always chase your dreams,” Griffin said, “but it’s also really healthy to take a break every now and then from those dreams and just take a step back and look at it in a holistic way and be able to learn from what your journey has been.

“For me, I completely stopped playing golf. I worked there for a few months and it was a great time for me to get my mind off golf completely. I had no intention of coming back to golf. And it’s crazy how it turned out the way it did. It’s been quite a journey, and you know, I’m just trying to take it all in, and at the same time just keep working hard and letting things happen as they come.

“It’s a very difficult challenge to get to the top in this sport. There’s a lot of different paths and a lot of it is playing golf in tournaments and places around the world, starting out and not making a lot of money, and then just kind of trusting the process.

“I’m fortunate that I’ve had so much support from not only my family and friends but also from sponsors to give back to golf, and it gave me the opportunity to not only play for myself, but I felt like I had to play for them and work hard and make sure I was doing the right things off the golf course to make sure I was doing my best. It involved a lot of sacrifices and a change in lifestyle, but it definitely paid off in the end, and it has, yes, been quite a journey.”

What do you think of the quote: Griffin’s story has been well documented in recent years – and one of the best stories came from GOLF’s Josh Berhow, which you can read here. But what strikes me is that he always answers questions about his ‘journey’ eloquently. That should tell you something.

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