Keys To Match Play Success

Today is the penultimate day of the Solheim Cup, with the USA currently leading the European Team 4.5 to 3.5. Personally, I am still waiting to play my Club Match Play semi-final (I've already won my flight, and am now in the Final Four) and this time, I am playing a golfer who is clearly better than I am and will not make tactical mistakes to save me should I have an errant hole.

Even when one is playing a better player, the same principles of match play success still apply. Here are my keys that have served me well thus far:

Play the course, not your opponent.

This key comes from one Bobby Jones, one of the great golfers and most fearsome match play opponents in the history of the game. Even though match play is mano y mano, it is still you versus the golf course first, and most likely, last. Don't get caught up in the emotion of what your opponent is doing, and take dead aim with your own ball and do the best you can -- this will serve you longer than trying to out-do everything your opponent does.

Always play first.

It's always better to play first, because that leaves your opponent in the position of answering your good shot.

Walter Hagen, who won five PGA Championships at match-play, would often start a game by hitting a 3-wood from the tee. That assured him of being in the fairway, leaving his opponent in the position of having to do the same. If s/he is not playing the course first and trying to best you instead, s/he'll have a lot more pressure on them, which already gives you an edge.

Get the ball into the hole first.

This is anotiher way of increasing the pressure on your opponent. Don't rush, but by putting out, you're done, you can relax and catch a mental break before the next tee and you will leave your opponent feeling the pressure to beat or match your score.

Always, always, ALWAYS assume that your opponent will make the putt or make a great shot.

This might be the most important rule of match-play.

There's an old saying about assume: there are two words in assume, ass and me. By taking for granted that you've already won a hole or that there's no way that your opponent can do what s/he needs to do, you've given them the edge by letting your guard down and with it your dropped concentration.

Take one shot at a time.

You can only hit one shot at a time, so give each one your level best. That doesn't mean don't play each hole to your game plan, but you can get yourself into trouble with half-baked layups or lag putts...so give each and every one your total concentration.

On the other hand, what's done is done, and if you made a poor shot last time, forget about it. You can't undo it, and you can only deal in the present. Even more importantly, if you just made a GREAT shot, that was also in the past and don't let it make you overconfident. Overconfidence also leads to dropped concentration and dropped concentration leads to bad shots. That in mind, keep your head level and take each shot as if it were the most important one in the match.

Watch your opponent. Closely.

There are two reasons for this: first of all, by watching your opponent, you can see where their head is at, and you can tell if they are struggling. If you notice that your opponent is struggling or has gotten out of his or her routine, it's a golden opportunity to stay relaxed and try to increase the pressure even more. You do this by making a great shot on your own.

Secondly, and let's be honest: people make mistakes, or worse, cheat. The Rules are your friend, and if your opponent breaks the rules, you've just won the hole. Don't feel bad about calling them on it, because you are bound by the rules, and obliged to follow them. So are they. And besides, if you call them on an obvious rules violation, that will get in their head and very possibly will give you a major mental edge.

Study the Rules of Golf and Its Decisions.

You have to know the Rules, for the reasons listed above - you have to follow them and so does your opponent. Even as an amateur, you should have a solid working knowledge of the rules and how they are applied. While the USGA and the R&A's rulebooks can make for dry reading, go through them in the offseason and learn them well.

Then, as I have advised in the past, read Barry Rhodes' "999 Questions On The Rules of Golf." Mr. Rhodes has written a very-easy-to-read book that's enjoyable and will allow you to improve your knowledge as much at a time as you are willing to take on. You can also read Mr. Rhodes' fine web site at www.barryrhodes.com.

I cannot stress enough or too often that the rules are in place to help you -- and the only way that they can do that is if you know them. They are your friend, so visit often.

Finally, never, ever, NEVER give up!

I once heard the great basketball coach, Jim Valvano say that as he was stricken was cancer and close to death. Valvano was using his NC State team's 1983 run through the NCAA tournament as a metaphor for life - and his battle with cancer. In that run, NC State found themselves in a position where they had to win their conference tournament to even get to the larger NCAA tournament, and to win that, they had to beat the defending national champion -- the Michael Jordan led North Carolina team. They did that, and were rewarded with playing the University of Virginia - only the #3 team in the country and the heavy favorite in their game. They won that too.

In the NCAA tournament, NC State found themselves often trailing and in dire circumstances. They never gave up, they never gave in, and by the time all was said and done, they won despite all odds. "The Cinderella Slipper fits!" was the exclamation of NC State's play-by-play announcer, but the truth was that hard work and a never-say-die attitude is what carried the day.

That applies as much to golf as basketball -- by never, ever giving up you can do what you think you can't do. A positive attitude is key. You can't say can't, because as soon as you do, the next word that follows will be "couldn't."

It's a simple truth that in match play: "It's never over until it's over." You may pull off a miracle shot or your opponent may surprise you and miss a relatively simple shot, and let you back in the hole - or even the match.

US Team Getting To Know "The Real Wie"

Michelle Wie has already won at this week's Solheim Cup, according to her teammates. She's won a lot of their friendships, they say.

"As teammates, I think that we've all gotten to know her in a different way. She's made a lot of new friends this week. It'll be a really good experience for her. I think it already has been," quipped Morgan Pressel to reporters on Wednesday.

That could be a major boon and stepping stone in Wie's growth both as a person and as a golfer. Despite never having won a 72-hole event, the 19 year old is already the highest paid woman golfer, thanks to her abundant endorsement contracts. Rumors and innuendo swirled around her in the press, something that US Team Captain Beth Daniel addressed on Wednesday as well. "We always read that the players didn't like Michelle. They thought she was given everything and that when she plays golf, she's very controlled," Daniels said.

Then she continued on, saying that Wie "is one of the funniest individuals I've ever been around. She's got a very quick wit and she's really a sweet person. She's so appreciative of this opportunity."

While it is an opportunity, it is one that will come with great scrutiny. Wie's play, particularly if a match she is involved in is tight at the end and/or key to the US's victory hopes, will be examined, dissected and displayed on national television by NBC analysts Johnny Miller and Dottie Pepper.

Miller is known for his blunt style of calling it like he sees it, especially when he thinks he's seen a bad mistake. His evisceration of golfers great or unknown on NBC coverage is the stuff of legend, and Miller's commentary is possibly the most direct seen from a network announcer since broadcasting legend Howard Cosell retired. For example, in 2006, as Phil Mickelson was melting down and losing the US Open on the 72nd hole, Miller quipped that "you couldn't have [made] worse decisions than he's had on this hole."

Pepper, for her part, has her own record of direct commentary even when she doesn't mean to do so. In 2007, Pepper said that the US Team were "chokin' freakin' dogs" on air, later saying that she thought Golf Channel's coverage had gone to commercial. Naturally, that didn't sit well with the US Team, who were narrowly leading a tight event at the time. For that comment, even European captain Helen Alfredsson criticized her, calling it "totally inappropriate."

With that in mind, Wie has the chance to be a real hero, or perhaps a scapegoat this weekend, something that will surely be underlined by the commentators covering the event. The US Team is heavily favored to win, but as it often is in match play events, the winner will likely be determined on the last day, when each team sends out everyone to square off in singles events. There, Wie will need to muster her best golf from tee to green and show a grit coming down the stretch that has eluded her thus far in 2009. If she can do that, she will earn the praise of golf fans everywhere. If not, well, she'll get a difficult and painful lesson.

Still, she's inured herself with many of the top players on her tour, which can do nothing else besides making her life easier when it comes to the week in, week out nature of professional golf. That may well inspire her confidence, which has been fragile, and in turn, that may allow Wie to play more confidently and boldly -- which is a dangerous proposition for her opponents, given her prodigious talents.

Will We See Wie In The Solheim Cup? We Should.

Three weeks from now, the 11th Solheim Cup gears up in Sugar Grove Illinois, near Naperville, a Chicagoland suburb. The top of the US side is pretty much set, and the team will be well-favored going into the matches on friendly soil in the midwest.

Question is, will Michelle Wie be a part of her first Solheim Cup team?

US Captain Beth Daniel has been non-committal regarding her Captain's Choices for the team, telling the Honolulu Advertiser that "Michelle Wie's a possibility for sure. She's been playing well. She's been showing me something ... I've said all along she has to move up in the points a little bit to be considered, but if you look at her stats and how she's playing, she's playing as good as anybody. She's on my radar screen, but it's so up in the air."

Current rankings for the US side are:

 Rank   Player                    Points

1   Paula Creamer              769.5
2   Cristie Kerr               693.5
3   Angela Stanford            573.0
4   Nicole Castrale            314.0
5   Brittany Lang              301.5
6   Morgan Pressel             277.0
7   Kristy McPherson           276.0
8   Christina Kim              255.0
9   Brittany Lincicome         250.0
10   Natalie Gulbis             201.0
11   Laura Diaz                 177.0
12   Stacy Prammanasudh         170.0
13   Pat Hurst                  164.0
14   Juli Inkster               152.0
15   Jane Park                  141.0
16   Michelle Wie               133.5

One thing Daniel should consider is that Wie is a steady and reliable performer in her rookie year, even if she has yet to claim a victory. She is 11 for 11 in cuts made, And she has as many top-10 finishes (five) as the the five players immediately ahead of her (Laura Diaz, Stacy Prammanasudh, Pat Hurst, Juli Inkster and Jane Park) combined. Wie is also ranked 11 in scoring average, ahead of the players in front of her in the standings.

Inkster is probably a lock to be a Captain's pick. She is nearing the end of her career as a strong competitor and her stated goal for this year is to play in one more Solheim Cup. Inkster is undoubtedly a deserving player, given her record and accomplishments, so it's easy to see that Beth Daniel will be making a call to her soon -- if she hasn't quietly done so already -- to tell her some good news.

That leaves Laura Diaz, Stacy Prammanasudh, Pat Hurst, and Jane Park. All are deserving players, especially Hurst, but none can match Michelle Wie's on-course play, as is shown above. Wie is the better player, and all of the important indicators say so.

There is one other consideration that none bring to the table as well: Q-ratings. The LPGA has been running on stealth mode for some time now, save for when Michelle Wie is playing well and in contention. Love or hate the young Hawaiian, she brings viewers to a tour quite frankly in dire straits, and Daniels picking her to be a part of the women's version of the Ryder Cup would bring desperately needed viewers. That would surely be cause for good cheer at LPGA headquarters and also in the executive suites at Golf Channel down I-4 in Orlando.

Bottom line: Wie deserves the berth, she's earned it. Not only that, the LPGA needs her there as well. While it would be tough on the four competitors left out, one thing that they should understand is that putting Michelle Wie on the US team is actually better for them in the long run, because when Michelle is on television, she's actually helping guarantee that the LPGA has a viable future. Not only that, but she's outplayed them, and her being there would not be a nod to her fame, but one towards her golf.