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How Scottie Scheffler’s Olympic goal of having fun still helped him take home gold

Published

1 month ago

August 6, 2024

or to the 2024 men’s Olympic golf competition, the Olympic Golf Instagram handle posted photos showcasing nine players’ answers to the same five questions: their nickname, who they’re representing, how many Olympic Games they’ve competed in, their favorite Olympic sport, and their goal. All but one had the same goal of winning a medal. Scottie Scheffler was the outlier. His goal: Have fun.

Fast forward a few days and Scheffler was wearing the gold medal. He shot 62 in the final round, including a 29 on the back nine to win by one stroke over Tommy Fleetwood.

The only player who didn’t reference winning a medal in their goals was the one who won gold. And there might be a reason for that.

Sports psychologist Dr. Deborah Graham, who has worked with many tour pros, notably Fred Couples, says that goals unrelated to outcome can help you perform better because they’re focused on factors you can control.

“If you stay fixed on the goal of winning, invariably you’re going to start feeling it somewhere during the round, after a bad shot or a bad hole. Usually, it’s the last few holes where it just dominates your mind,” Dr. Graham says. “The reason it’s a problem for most people is because it encompasses things they can’t control.”