BIG PLAY
WHO: Vijay Singh
WHAT: 174-yard seven-iron approach into the water
WHERE: Par-4 18th at Bay Hill
WHEN: Final round of the Bay Hill Invitational
WHY
After yipping a two-footer to lose the Honda and now the water ball at Bay Hill, some people are mistaking Singh for Greg Norman. Is Vijay snakebit? No. He simply hit a couple of bad shots. Remember, Singh made late charges in both events and is again ranked No. 1. Look out for Vijay at the Players and the Masters.
MARK'S TIP
If Things Go Bad, Look for the Good
You'd be surprised how easy it is to rattle a Tour player. A couple of negative events like Singh's can be tough to shake off. One Tour pro recently told me that even though he was ranked in the top 40 in earnings, the tough patch he was going through made him think that his career was over and it might be time to get a real job. To deal with those types of situations, I help players expand the positives and diminish the negatives. Here's a list of ideas that I would go over with Singh this week if he were my pupil.
Mark Wood teaches at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J., and is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher.
Vijay's Checklist
1. It's O.K. to be disappointed.
2. Golf scores have nothing to do with your identity. Bad shots don't mean you're a bad person.
3. You can choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.
4. In general you're firing on all cylinders.
5. The only person you need to worry about on the course is yourself.
6. You're No. 1. That's awesome!
... AND ANOTHER THING
"The Tour needs to be proactive on steroids by banning them and testing the players. Golf is all about power, and the pros will be tempted to gain an edge."
TOP 100
TEACHERS POLL
Should golf's governing bodies ban performance-enhancing drugs?
Yes 92%
No 8%
"No. Golf is still a sport in which you must call a rules violation on yourself."
--NANCY QUARCELINO
NANCY QUARCELINO SCHOOL OF GOLF
COLOR PHOTO
DAVID WALBERG
COLOR PHOTO
ERICK W. RASCO (WOOD)
COLOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
DAVID WALBERG
VOLKER MOEHRKE/CORBIS (SYRINGE)