WHAT IS IT?

"IT" was on everyone's mind and everyone's tongue last month at Olympic Club during the U.S. Open Championship. The spectators, media and players repeatedly speculated about IT.

Who had it? Who'd find it? Who'd lose it? Who had developed it? Who would hide it? Who would show it? Who could hold on to it? Especially during the stress of the final day, the final round on this most challenging of courses?

Certainly they wondered aloud about Payne Stewart, did he have IT in him to go wire to wire again to win another U.S. Open Championship? The BIG question:

IS HE MENTALLY TOUGH ENOUGH!??

They said this was the key to unlock the door to success. Whichever player had this key on their key ring would certainly emerge victorious.

Well, Payne Stewart didn't win, but does that mean he wasn't mentally tough? That he didn't have the most important ingredient of a winner? That Lee Janzen, the new U.S. Open Champion, had it while Stewart and the other players did not have it?

I don't think so. And I don't think Payne Stewart thinks so either.

His words are the words of a mentally tough player.

"If you think well enough, and realize that you don't have your A game that day then you do the best with what you have. This is learned deal. Getting something positive from the bad situations. It takes a lot of mental toughness to be able to do that. If you let a pressure situation change your routine then you don't have control."

And his actions were the actions of a mentally tough player.

Mentally tough people actively chose where they put their attention, knowing that wherever they put their attention is what will increase, in their golf game or in their life. A pre-shot routine is an example of directing and holding your attention where you want it. Stewart described his intentions.

"What I do in my pre-shot routine, I make sure I do the same thing with each shot. I treat each shot the same, whether it's the first tee shot on Thursday or the last putt on Sunday."

He held to his routine throughout his final round, down to the last putt, that birdie putt opportunity on number 18 to tie Janzen and force a play-off. He treated it like every other putt-his routine remained the same! He made a solid stroke, but the ball slid by...no playoff.

The game of golf is like life in that you can do everything really well and still not always come out the winner. In fact you can do everything really well and maybe never come out the Champion. So what is mental toughness then?

Mentally tough people have created a set of beliefs about themselves, others, and the world in general which supports them being successful. Their success is the result of actively expressing these beliefs in what they think, say, and do in each moment of their life.

Stewart expressed this toughness when he said, "I realize that my time is coming. I really believe that. I'm seeing a lot of positive things out there, It's a matter of one of these weeks I'm going to click and they're gonna be watching me."

Stewart believes he's a winner waiting to happen again. Holding such a belief creates feelings within of confidence, trust, flow, calm and peace. Think of what those feelings do for his golf swing. Well, actually, watch his golf swing and you can see for yourself what those feelings can do. He's known for his fluid, sweet swing.

Mental toughness is also about staying in the game and continually giving yourself every opportunity to win. It means being aware of your 'self,' and what works for you and what doesn't. As Stewart said, "Everybody's an individual and does different things to be mentally tough."

If your Payne Stewart it might mean wearing knickers when no one else does. It's Jim Furyk trusting his golf swing in all its uniqueness, and it's Bruce Lietzke never practicing because that's what works for him.

So, you say, he was mentally tough and he still lost! Why did he lose? The answer is one of the key beliefs that every golfer needs in order to make it out there, and Stewart said it well, "I lost because I didn't play well enough to win, and I was beaten by a great round of golf."

I also think he lost because golf, like life, is a very fickle game! Sometimes golf balls fall out of trees and sometimes they don't!!

Payne Stewart may not have won the U.S. Open Championship but he did give us a good example of the "mental toughness" necessary to put yourself in position to win. He taught us what we need to do out there to give ourselves that same opportunity to succeed.

Know and believe in your "self".

Use your imagination and creativity to put your attention where you want it. Express the highest and best of who you are...even when it does not agree with conventional wisdom.

THAT'S "IT!"

Dr. Paula King, Golf's "Head" Coach®, is a licensed sports psychologist in private practice in Phoenix. Specializing in work with golfers her clients include tour pros, juniors and amateurs. Comments or Questions?