Yes.
Ok before signing off on the shortest blog in history lets examine the “choking” phenomenon in more detail. It is a derogatory term used to describe those occasions when a sportsperson fails to perform to their usual standard due to the sense of occasion they find themselves in. It is very commonly applied to golfers – more so than any other sport. Why is this so? The most common evidence of choking is the missed 3 foot putt to “win it all”. Golf is one of the more complex games in the world and so when tension increases it is of no surprise that a few shots may be sprayed as in fact happened with Adam Scott. After all he dropped 4 shots in 4 holes. But most of us have had a go at golf and some of us even play quite regularly if rather poorly. We cant hit 300 m drives but most of us feel we can sink 9/10 3 foot putts. On British Open Greens that may drop to about 6/10 but still when a Pro misses it deep down deep inside we know we could have made it. Hence we state with a degree of confidence that he “choked”
For cricketers we have the quaint term of “nervous nineties”. Sam Stosur “struggles in big tennis events despite her obvious talent. Hell she was knocked out of the Olympics by some player from Uranus ranked 2074 in the world – first round!the Aussie 4X100 Mens swimming relay were odds on to win today – they were beaten by Russia who have to break the ice on top of the pool before they can even train. Missile Magnusson suddenly decided to add 1 s to every 100 m he swam. Its called pressure folks and some people handle it better than others.
Perhaps the most noted designated “choker” in golf is our very own Sharkie. This is because he had so much talent and so little in the Majors cupboard to show for it that he must have choked. In reality he really only choked in the 1996 Masters – no argument. Most of the other occasions were because of his “take no prisoners” approach to golf which both thrilled and dismayed his legion of fans. We had Ballesteros, Norman, Plastic Phil and now Bubba Watson. These guys lose more tournaments then they win maybe but man they could draw a crowd. I would rather watch Sharkie shoot 83 than Jim Furyk shoot 63. They can afford to be devil may care because they all hop in their private jets after missing out and head home to their mansion. The famous saying always was what comes after a 74 for Norman ? The second round! He always charged home – sometimes made it sometimes didnt. Deep down though the lack of “majors” in the cupboard hurts. Norman was unlucky at times but on most occasions it was poor course management – look at his last round when he had the chance to win the British Open a couple of years ago – when still with wifey Numero 2. He was taking driver on holes where clearly an iron was required
So yes Adam choked but he is not a choker – he showed that last year at The Masters down the stretch. When he gets in this position again, which he undoubtedly will, will be the test. Has he learnt from the experience or been forever scarred? It will be fun to watch either way – humans are like that.
flashman181 