January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
In sports, there can only be one winner
We are about three weeks away from the start of one of Bermuda's major golf tournaments and, for me, it is an intriguing time. I find myself wondering about who might walk away with the top prize, about how the last 9 holes will pan out, whether someone will choke at the last gasp or whether someone will birdie the last 2 holes and win by a shot.
It's not easy to win golf tournaments, especially if it is your first victory. By definition, in order to win your first golf tournament, you have to be prepared to perform outside your comfort zone. You have to be prepared to do something that you want to do but have never done before. You have to be willing to confront your own demons, basically, to confront your own insecurities, as you work through the emotions of being outside your comfort zone.
Playing under pressure is a curious exercise and not everybody likes it. The intensity of the pressure cooker is directly related to the quality of the field. The better the field, the harder it is to win.
There is a popular catch-phrase that says everybody is a winner. Such a catch-phrase has its place in the world but, for my dime, it doesn't actually work in the world of sport - there can only be one winner. It is the thrill of winning that makes us want to compete. In order to win, we must be better than the rest. And in order to be better than the rest, we'd better just get out there and practice hard or we will be swallowed up by the rest of the crowd.
Fortunately, winning can take on a number of different guises. Individuals can have a winning performance if they achieve more from themselves than they expected. We all have personal bests and if we beat our personal best, then by definition we have won. This is what is so great about competition. It provides an opportunity for us to see how well we can perform under test conditions. The realist in each of us may recognize that, while we may not yet be able to win the tournament, we sure can beat our personal bests.
So, who will win this year's Stroke Play Championships? I don't know but I'm pretty sure about one thing, if you do not play, then you cannot win.
I'm also pretty sure the test at Tucker's Point will be a great one. There are eight players heading off to the Island Games later in the summer so hopefully they will see fit to compete in June at Tucker's Point, if they are in Bermuda. There are also a number of fine senior players who will want to show the younger set that they still have some game left in their respective tanks.
There is another certainty about this. There will only be one winner and, if you play, it just might be you.
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