A new approach
Choi learning to let results come without burden of intense pressure
BY NEAL REID
No one has been harder on Na Yeon Choi during her career than Na Yeon Choi.
The fourth-year pro has, at times, admittedly been her own worst enemy, heaping loads of pressure on herself to perform at the highest level and obsessing about results. That self-imposed stress may have been masked by the fact she was producing great results, but it was eating away at her and limiting her as a person.
The results, clearly, have always been there.
Choi finished second to Yani Tseng in the 2008 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race after 10 top-10 finishes, $1,095,759 in earnings and no missed cuts in 28 events. She won twice, notched 11 top-10s, pocketed another $1,341,078 and made all 26 cuts the following year.
Her 2010 campaign was even better, as Choi picked up another two wins, made 23 of 24 cuts and earned $1,871,166 with a 69.91 stroke average.
But to her, it wasn’t good enough, and the intense youngster focused on the negative more than she should have.
“Last year, I missed my first LPGA cut at Wegmans, and I expected a lot and practiced a lot for that tournament since it was a major,” Choi said. “It was my first LPGA missed cut, and I got really disappointed with myself and was crying. I talked to my swing coach, mental coach and parents, and they said it was normal and not to be so disappointed in myself.
“They said, ‘If you’re mad, buy some eggs and throw them at the wall.’ So, I bought some eggs and threw them against the wall in my hotel room, and I felt better. Then I cleaned up everything.”
Obsessing about results, she said, was making performing tougher and tougher, until she realized she can’t control everything on or off the golf course.
“It’s all about results, and everybody expected better results than 2010 or my current results,” she said. “I wanted better results than 2010, but I realized that I can’t control all of the results. Every year, I learn something at the tournaments. I just keep trying and don’t worry so much about the results. If I get a bad result or good result, I just keep doing the same thing every day and try my best.”
She has performed well again in 2011, making 15 of 16 cuts, earning $753,690 and recording eight top-10 finishes.
Choi has learned to ease up on herself and let the results come to her naturally. It hasn’t been a seamless or particularly easy process, but the talented Korean walks around today as a genuinely happier person.
Meeting Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of VISION54 – a motivational company that works with golfers to embrace their abilities to unlock their unlimited and unique potential – was a turning point for Choi in taking pressure off herself.
“I met them two years ago, and the first time I met them, I won my first tournament,” Choi said. “When I met them, they told me, ‘You can’t control everything about winning.’ That stuck in my heart, and I realized that that’s not my job.
“I realized my job is to go out there, hit some good shots and make some putts. After I met them, I felt like I grew up. They always try to give me high energy and a happy feeling. They’re really great.&
Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment
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