Moving Day at the Amundi Evian Championship: Keep Trusting in the Good

“It wasn't as good as the first two days, but, yeah, I really hung in there. Made some clutch par saves on the back nine, which felt nice,” said Brooke Henderson after her third round 3 under par 68. Henderson, who opened 64-64 in the first two rounds, holds the 54-hole lead at the Amundi Evian Championship.

“Not as many birdies on the card,” said Henderson. “It felt like the course was playing a little bit tougher for me today. Hopefully I’ll go out tomorrow and continue to ball strike pretty well and hopefully make some putts.”

Golf is a game of streaks, both good and bad. Anyone that has played the game, for any length of time, understands this to be true. Sometimes, after a streak of really good play, golfers start to look for the other shoe to drop and the good to come to a screeching halt. It’s in our nature as humans to almost feel as though good things can’t last forever, and with that pattern of thinking, we almost conjure up the bad to sneak in. 

What I loved about Henderson’s post third round comments was this… she framed the day in such a way that despite shooting four strokes worse than the previous two days, she still took the positive from the day as a focal point. 

If you look for a hot streak to end, it more than likely will…it’s a self-induced prophecy when you think that way. Think about it, how many times have you talked yourself into hitting a bad shot, or a series of bad shots. After making a couple birdies in a row, or a streak of pars, all depending on where you are at with your level of play, you must learn to take the good as it comes and continue to trust in it. 

I tell my students often that trust is a major ingredient in the recipe for success. You must learn to trust in the process when learning a new move in your swing… you must learn to trust that your hard work will eventually show the fruits of your labor… and you must undoubtedly trust in your ability… and trust that when the good play comes, you can maintain it. At the same time, you must also learn to trust that when things get off track a little bit, that you are not “losing it all.”

Learning to trust as it relates to your game is what separates those that continue to improve from those that do not. It is also what allows you to keep playing well when you are on a hot streak…ask Brooke Henderson, or any other professional that has seen success in their careers.