Tiger's Intrapsychic Conflict

Last week at The Masters, the most famous athlete in professional sports finally got back to playing golf. Tiger Woods, marred by the scandal that has shaken up the golf world, the tabloids and the dynamics of his family posted an 11 under to finish The Masters tournament tied for 4^th, remarkable considering the fact that he spent six weeks at an inpatient sex rehabilitation clinic and has been away from the game for over four months.

While the patrons at Augusta National were respectful and enthusiastic for Tiger’s performance, the court of public appeal still had one question for Tiger regarding his affairs with over a dozen mistresses. Why? Why would an athlete with so much going for him—a beautiful wife, beautiful children and a game that is the best in history—seemingly throw it all away?

However, in order to have any type of understanding into why something like this could occur, you must examine the intrapsychic issues that were likely going on with Tiger over the course of his marriage. Since he was a teenager, Tiger has been smothered by everyone in his inner circle—his overbearing father and strict mother—along with millions of people who had never met him. Tiger was always viewed as the perfect citizen, someone who had the mental toughness to handle all obstacles while saying everything the public wanted to hear. However, being forced to be perfect all the time had to take its toll on Tiger at some point.

To the amazement of those around the game, there never seemed to be any moments in which Tiger wasn’t nearly perfect and even more remarkable, never any moments of backlash towards those close to him, even though he had been forced to be perfect in so many aspects of his life for so many years. In Elin, Tiger likely saw someone that fit the perfect mold that had been created by the people around him his entire life, someone who would be his perfect other half. However, subconsciously Tiger was looking for a way out of the seemingly perfect world that others had constructed for him.

Even though Woods will apologize profusely for his mistakes and beg for forgiveness from both his family and the public, Tiger was looking to flee from his mistake-free persona that he couldn’t live up to. The adultery committed was Tiger's way of announcing to those around him that he didn't want the life that had been created and fabricated for him. And even though nobody in the media will ever even touch Elin for her role, she had to have played a small part in Tiger’s actions, even if it was at a subconscious level.

“The fact that (Woods) continued extremely reckless behavior in the face of such dire consequences strongly suggests that he was unconsciously seeking an escape from the most burdensome elements of his life,” said Golf Digest senior writer Jaime Diaz in the April 2010 issue of the magazine. “No matter how great his accomplishments in golf, they would never be quite good enough for what he felt was a growing legion of critics.”

Woods' complete disregard for consequences suggest that something deeper was at play in his mind, even if it is something that Tiger will never be able to pinpoint over the course of his life.

“I’m certain that as bad as Tiger feels,” says renowned sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante, “On some deep level, he is relieved.”

Now that the expectations that were both unrealistic and unwanted are gone, Tiger has an opportunity to play with the freedom that he has always sought and possibly be better than he has ever been.

Padraig Harrington's New Confidence

Even though Tiger Woods was not in the field at the British Open last week, Padraig Harrington proved that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the elite golfers of the world. Despite having a nagging wrist injury that nearly forced him to withdraw from the field, Harrington put together four stellar rounds to win by four shots over Ian Poulter. His win at Royal Birkdale not only netted him $1.49 million but it also vaulted him to number three in the latest World Golf Rankings, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
During the entire week, Harrington appeared cool and confident as though he expected to win the Open Championship all along. He also showed no signs of pain from his wrist and obviously didn’t play like it was hurting him. Perhaps being in pain helped Padraig Harrington more than it hurt him. After winning last year’s Open Championship, there was tremendous pressure placed on Harrington to repeat especially with Tiger Woods no longer being in the field. Also, because he is from Ireland, Harrington faced a tremendous amount of media coverage during the week which also added to the pressure of the tournament. Because of the pressure from the media and from himself, Harrington was under an incredible amount of stress which is the last thing a person needs when playing a difficult golf course.
However, the lowered expectations from being hurt likely allowed Harrington to relax and slow down, two keys to reducing stress under pressure situations. Another major aspect of coping with stress is the belief that your skill level is in line with what you are trying to accomplish. If doubt is in a person’s consciousness at any point, there performance will suffer with any task whether it is a difficult task at work to a tough test coming up at school. Simply, if a person believes they can accomplish something, the brain responds in a way that makes it much more likely to get the task done. With Tiger Woods not being in the field, Harrington likely had a greater belief in himself which allowed for his optimal performance to be carried out during the course of the week.
Harrington had two major things going for him at Royal Birkdale: a greater belief in his abilities and a higher level of relaxation as a result of lowered expectations from his wrist injury. Athletes throughout the years have been able to overcome injury or illness to put up a great performance. Willis Reed limping onto the court before Game 7 of the 1970 Finals with a torn thigh muscle to help the Knicks past the Lakers for the title. Michael Jordan overcoming flu-like symptoms in game 5 of the ’97 Finals to torch Utah for 38 points en route to his fifth title. Most recently, Tiger Woods dominating the field at Torrey Pines to win the U.S. Open despite having a torn ACL and stress fracture in his leg. As long as injured athletes believe they can play, the expectations are reduced which allows them to relax and play their best.
At Royal Birkdale, Harrington looked confident and relaxed and took home the Claret Jug easily. Perhaps the greater confidence he has developed from two straight Open titles and being ranked third in the world will translate to greater success in the American Majors. His first test comes August 7th at Oakland Hills with the PGA Championship. This time he will likely be the favorite for the first time in his career at a major championship.

Rafael Nadal's Courage Under Pressure

When the epic Wimbledon Final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer concluded, many people were wondering whether they had just witnessed the greatest tennis match in history. Even though Rafael Nadal won the first two sets and looked like he was on his way to a tiebreak victory in the fourth set, Federer fought back in a way that only great champions can. After winning the past five Wimbledon championships, Federer looked as though he would make it six. However, Nadal did something remarkable, overcoming nerves and darkness to defeat perhaps the best grass court tennis player of all time.

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While most tennis experts were wondering whether they had seen history, I was thinking about the match in a much different way. After Federer forced a fifth set, it appeared that it would be next to impossible for Nadal to squeak out a win. After all, Federer had never lost at Wimbledon and Nadal only seemed to have luck against him on the slow clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. However, as Nadal did on Sunday, some people learn how to overcome mental fatigue and learn to perform their best under pressure.
The cognitive model theory in psychology, popularized by Aaron Beck, states that a person’s core beliefs become automatic thoughts later in life, that tend to pop up during everyday life in response to certain situations. Often times, these automatic thoughts are learned during a child’s social development, meaning that parents often have a large role on how their children behave as adults. This is part of the reason Tiger Woods has become extremely mentally tough in situations where most people would fold. As a child, Tiger Woods was taught things by his father that made his learn to block out distractions and focus on what needed to be done. The same can be said about Nadal, who learned to play his free-swinging style from his father under extreme circumstances.
When people have compulsive disorders, such as OCD, they are often treated through the means of classical conditioning and habituation. This process allows people to become more comfortable with what bothers them by presenting stimuli and eliminating the person’s escape response. When people learn to confront distractions at an early age, it is often much easier for the reaction to become automatic as they get older. For example, it is much easier for children to get over their fears than adults because they don’t rely as heavily on their escape response.
Woods and Nadal were presented with negative stimuli while competing at an early age which made them better prepared for difficult situations later in life. The key is to make your mind respond to abnormal situations in an automatic way. This response becomes easier for the body to employ when it has been habituated to receiving the stimulus. As Nadal showed, the pressure of the Wimbledon final didn’t bother him in the way that it would for most young players. He was able to block out all of the distractions and concentrate on the game he was confident in. The result was a win over the greatest grass court player of the modern era and a place in the history books.