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Take a Lesson from Vijay

Michael Anthony

On August 15, 2004 Vijay Singh won the 86th PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Earlier that morning I read an interview with Vijay in the Sunday newspaper's sports page that caught my attention. It made me wonder if he has been reading "The Mental Keys."

After all, a Vijay Singh ordered a copy of my book from my website in March. I'm not sure if it was Vijay 'The Golfer' or just another golfer with the same name.

The interviewer was probing Vijay about his desire to supplant Tiger Woods as the number one player in the world. Listen to what Vijay had to say about his desire and focus.

"My focus two months ago was the wrong thing," Singh said. "I was focusing so hard to get to the No. 1 spot; I started not focusing on my own game. Every time I teed it up, I didn't want to play bad, and hence, I started to make simple mistakes.

"Right now, I am totally focused on what I am doing, my game and not worried about the rankings.... It doesn't bother me at all."

Wow, that sure told me a lot about Vijay. He is not only out working his competition on perfecting his mechanical skills and staying in good physical condition. Now he has found the secret to greatly improve his mental game and elevate his golf another notch.

The outcome is merely a by-product of improving the process. Vijay has learned to focus on the process and allow the outcome to take care of itself.

"I'm playing well enough to feel like every time I tee it up, I can win," Singh told the interviewer.

Vijay may have limped through the final 18 holes when his putting went south. But, he sure stepped it up when he was given a new life in Sunday's playoff. This is what he said in "The Wire" interview on Monday.

"I just hung in there. I never gave up, and I just said, I'm going to make a putt sooner or later.

"When you play a playoff, you're in a playoff; you just know you're going to finish second. You can't do worse than second. You can go out there and just beat the crap out of the ball if you have to."

So take a lesson from Vijay. Work on improving the process and forget about the outcome because the outcome is merely a by-product of improving the process.

Michael Anthony's Unique Mental Training Program, The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf,
Guarantees to Lower Your Score by Improving Your Mental Game