As I write this article, I am waiting for the playoff holes to start at the 2025 Players Championship. Currently, JJ Spaun and Rory McIlroy are preparing to tee it up in a three hole playoff. Given the current world standings and past history, McIlroy should be the odds on favourite. However, I have played in a couple playoff of a golf tournaments where it was sudden death – one I lost and one I won. I used two different approaches that produced two different results. Both were learning experiences and my golf game was better for the opportunities to test my game under pressure.

There is one constant that affects the result of any playoff in golf. It is the added pressure of one shot sinking the ship. In the case of The Players, the three hole aggregate score allows for one potential wayward shot; unlike the sudden death events I played in many years ago. Pressure to perform on every shot is definitely a factor during any playoff. Given the stature of each player, one would think that McIlroy has the advantage. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

When I played before, I used the cautious and the free swinging approaches in my attempt to win the golf tournament. Surprisingly or not, I lost playing cautious and won swinging freely. The cautious approach really hindered my swing and created many doubts in each swing. I was focused on what not to do as opposed to just playing my game. During the free swinging win, I just played golf and hit my normal shots with the normal amounts of risk. The latter approach was definitely my preferred approach to playing playoff golf.

What really stood out about the two different approaches to my playoff experiences was how my mind played was an important factor to my success. The free swinging approach set my mind free and allowed me to stay positively focused on what I wanted to achieve vice what I should avoid. The positive mindset of just playing golf really helped me defeat my opponent. The lessons learned and experience of staying focus and loose transferred into my regular game. This approach propelled my game to the next level and I still use it today.

Back to The Players playoff today between Spaun and McIlroy. I do think McIlroy will win today because of his many opportunities to play pressure golf. I predict that he will win by two strokes because he will play steady focused golf that will add more pressure on Spaun. Let’s see if I am correct!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!