How Brandt Snedeker won U$ 11.5 million

There is no question about it. Brandt Snedeker, at 31, is a great golfer with a fantastic putting stroke.

There is nobody better than Snedeker, on the PGA Tour, when he gets on the green, in regulation numbers.

But, as Justin Rose, second to Brandt yesterday in the closing Tour Championship,  put it : " He's mentally tough, Brandt".

And that is the truth, plain and unvarnished. His mental toughness, his short game and his putter, made him the brilliant winner of this weekend´s  Tour Championship, reserved for the year´s best 30 golfers, and the winner of the FEDEX Series U$ 10 million bonus award.

And in his triumphant press conference he told the world how he did it:

He spoke about what he, and his team, did, when they met after his disastrous play, at the PGA Champinship, in mid August.

And here comes the surprising part, that reflects on Brandt Snedeker´s great maturity and mental fortitude:

He realized that no changes were needed. Only a great deal of patience and an even stronger belief in what he was doing.

Snedeker tells how he and his team reviewed, at length, his on course performance statistics, and they concluded that they were so good that with confidence and self belief he could beat the best golfers in the world. Specially on difficult courses, like the ones he was to face in the Fedex Cup Playoff season, where his outstanding short game and putter would be a significant advantage.

And his focus in self belief and self confidence started paying off big time.

Let´s not forget that Snedeker led this year´s British Open after two days, and finished in an excellent tie for third. But now he elevated his game to an even higher level. A second place at the Barclay´s and a sixth place at the Deutsche Bank put him into fifth place in the Fedex Cup points going in to the season ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

This meant that he "controlled his destiny", together with points leader McIlroy, Tiger, Mickelson and Whatney. In other words, by winning the Tour Championship he automatically would win the FEDEX Cup.

In his press conference Brandt Snedeker mentions several Mental Golf techniques that helped him win:

1. His confidence was enormous. He believed in his game one hundred percent. He expected to win.

2. He was patient at all times, including when he hit a couple of punishing shots on the front nine of the final round.

3. He "stayed" in the Present Moment.

He tells that on the 15th, with four holes to go, after he hit a drive straight down the middle, he "went to the future", thinking about the Fedex Cup and what it would mean. He says he almost hit himself in the face, and got back into the Present, reminding himself that there was still a lot of work and golf to be played.

4. He didn´t ever look at leaderboards. This technique contributes to ensure one "stays" in the Present Moment.

Brandt explained it as follows:

"No good comes out of me looking at the leaderboard. I get too amped up. I get too complacent if I'm ahead, or trying to push too much if I'm behind. So I try to play the same way I would if I had a five-shot lead or a five shot deficit".

In my view Brandt Snedeker has reached the top of golf due to his mental fortitude and his exceptional short game and putter.

A personal comment:

Just how important is intense and intelligent practice of the short game and putting ?????

IT´S PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO IN GOLF.........probably 60% of the game.....and we never do enough of it.

And another season comes to an end, and a great one for the top players that play on the PGA Tour.

The recent great form showed by Tiger, Rory, Donald, Phil, Sergio García, Rose and others like Whatney, Dufner, Kuchar, both Johnsons (Zach y Dustin), Bubba, Simpson, Mahan, Van Pelt and Westwood, assures a fascinating and competitive scenario for the months to come.