I have come to love golf (both as a participant and a fan of the professional game). The (British) Open Championship was last month (played at Carnoustie, Scotland - one of the great old courses that I'm praying I'll play one day!) and it was a great tournament and an incredible Sunday finish. Sergio Garcia, a top young golfer from Spain, came so very close to winning his first major. He finished second to Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who was just slightly better and won the championship in a four-hole playoff. Jaime Diaz, in Golf World, wrote a nice summation of what I saw in Sergio's demeanor after the outcome was complete (at the post-tourney press conference and later, on ESPN's Sportscenter)...
"The question is: Will Garcia learn?(Seve) Ballesteros is the legendary Spanish golfer that Diaz referenced, who'd just announced his retirement at the beginning of the week in Carnoustie. I really like how he framed Sergio's circumstance and how it contrasts with how champions act. It's something I would like to put more in practice in all my endeavors and thoughts I've now saved to refer back to when needed.
If so, the improvement will have to come in Garcia's attitude. His reaction to defeat showed that his focus is on fate and victimhood. Champions, however, think about optimism and accountability. When they lose, they don't make excuses or blame luck. They swallow the hurt, congratulate the winner for being better and resolve to get better themselves. If there is a torch Garcia can take from Ballesteros, it is that. It is the attitude -- the right stuff -- that he will need for his first major.
Deep down, like any young man growing up with grudging examples all around him, Garcia knows it. After his first-round 65, he said, "You learn from near-misses."
They don't come any nearer than Carnoustie. It's up to him."
- Jaime Diaz/Golfworld 07-27-07
