Mental strength is often what separates champions from the less successful. Take the case of Australia’s Adam Le Vesconte.
He sat on a four-shot lead after the third round of the Brunei Open on the Asian Tour but surrendered it on the final day, eventually handing victory to Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang.
Is it complacency? Is it lack of confidence to keep playing at your best? Or is it being frazzled by the chasing pack? Whatever it is, with all things being equal, your mental state when it matters is what makes you a winner.
So, does Le Vesconte lack that killer edge? No, after all, he has won the Philippines Open and the S.W. Open in Australia twice to prove he knows how to win.
However, on this day in Brunei, he was unable to defend a four-stroke lead and Lin produced some mental gymnastics of his own to overcome a six-stroke deficit to win by two strokes.
He closed with a six-under-par 65 for a 72-hole total of 269 while Le Vesconte settled for second after his final-round 73. The Taiwanese said on the Asian Tour website:
“I said whatever happens today, I just wanted to play a good round of golf and we’ll see what happens. I knew that I was closing in on the leader and I was feeling very nervous but I told myself to stay focused and maintain my composure.â€
The good thing for Le Vesconte is that he is taking only positives out of the tournament, satisfied with second place in Brunei and 10th at the previous week’s Johor Open in Malaysia. Good vibes makes for good scores and Le Vesconte will be a better player because of his Brunei experience.
