The “Expect the Best” Mantra
Day 7 reading “Duel in the Sun" by Michael Corcoran
“I was going to have to win it.”
Jack usually had a very clear plan: stay conservative and let other players make the mistakes. But that wouldn’t work today.
He said, “With anybody other than Tom, I would have felt like they’d lose it. Against Tom, I was going to have to win it.”
That required one of Jack’s lesser-known strategies: his “Expect the best” mindset. Jack expected Tom to hit every fairway, find every green, and sink every putt.
That created two psychological advantages:
It cleared all negative thoughts from Jack’s mind, even regarding his opponent’s performance.
And it made Jack shock-proof—which, as it turned out, he needed more than he could ever have imagined.
Tom’s birdie binge.
After four holes, Jack held a three-stroke lead.
But on 5, Tom finessed a 16-footer for birdie. On 6, he blasted from a bunker and made a gutsy 6-footer to save par. On 7, he went for the green in two and made birdie look easy. On 8, he slam-dunked a 20-footer into the back of the cup for another birdie.
They were now tied.
Imagine if Jack harbored those little negative thoughts we all have, hoping the other guy misses. Tom’s birdie binge would have shaken Jack’s confidence.
But Jack’s “expect the best” mindset protected him. He didn’t make a single mistake. By the 12th hole, he had recaptured the lead.
No one lost that day.
On the par-three 15th, Tom pulled his tee shot into the patchy rough. He was six feet off the green and 60 from the hole.
Instead of reaching for a wedge, he grabbed his putter. The ball popped into the air, raced across the green, rattled the flagstick and dropped in.
Tom and Jack were tied again.
That would have broken anyone’s confidence. But Jack wasn’t unshaken.
He parred 15 then they both parred 16. Tom birdied 17 and 18. Jack rallied with a final birdie. It wasn’t enough. Tom won by a single stroke.
But the scorecards tell another story.
Tom made two bogeys and seven birdies. Jack made four birdies and 14 pars. Jack hadn’t lost confidence or concentration. He hadn’t lost at all. He was beat. Tom was better that day—and Jack could live with that.
He threw his arm around Tom and they walked off the battlefield, smiling as 30,000 fans cheered for both players, knowing that no one had really lost that day.
The author Alexander McCall Smith said, “Gracious acceptance is an art which most never bother to cultivate.”
Psychologists tell us that negativity is contagious. When we secretly hope an opponent misses a putt, those negative thoughts can spread to our own performance. So turn Jack’s mindset into a mantra. Before a round, say to yourself, “I expect the best.” Extend that positivity to your playing partners, even if you’re competing against them. Remove all negativity from your mind and protect your confidence.
Instead of you throwing the round away, your opponent will have to step up and beat you, just like Tom beat Jack. And that’s what real competition is all about.
I hope you enjoyed Duel in the Sun by Michael Corcoran. This book weaves together the history of Tom, Jack, and the Open. It’s my idea of a perfect golf book.
That’s all for today. Meet me back here tomorrow when we’ll launch a new 7-day series to help keep your mental game in shape.
Until then, keep imagining what’s possible.