Why the ‘C word’ just sticks in the throat

IT’S becoming increasingly difficult to leave the word “choke” out of the sporting lexicon these days.

We had a graphic example of its literal interpretation in the aftermath of Saturday’s rugby match. In its broadest meaning, it’s a term that originated to describe those unfortunate enough to have succumbed under pressure and has become an almost everyday part of golfing terminology.

Most sports lend themselves to “choking” but it seems appropriate in golf more than any other, with regular demonstrations of players failing to cope under pressure. Heath Slocum became the most recent example in the PODS Championship in the US on Sunday night.

Not even the most eminent golfing historians can tell you when the “C word” entered the game’s vernacular.

I don’t recall it being used when Doug Sanders missed a yard putt on the 18th green in the final round of the 1970 Open Championship at St Andrews to allow Jack Nicklaus into a play-off which Nicklaus duly won. Scott Hoch’s howler in the 1989 Masters when he missed from less than two feet in a play-off against Nick Faldo is another right up there with the best. Faldo, of course, walked off with the green jacket at the next hole.

What is the difference between a “choke” and a “miss”? Why did Tiger Woods’ failure from four feet to beat Nick O’Hern at the 21st in the recent Accenture World Match Play Championship qualify for the latter? When the unfortunately-named Boo Weekley missed from a yard on the final green the other week to capture the Honda Classic, he inevitably joined the ranks of the former. The same fate awaits Heath Slocum after the PODS Championship in Tampa Bay on Sunday. Slocum lipped out from four feet for par to leave Mark Calcavecchia a somewhat fortunate winner.

Not even the greatest players, not Tiger, certainly not Phil Mickelson or Greg Norman, are immune from capitulation under the cosh. And it’s one reason why you rarely hear mention of the most damning of golfing expressions in locker rooms. Because what happened to so-and-so today could be you tomorrow! Double US Open champion Curtis Strange has seen both sides. He got up and down from a bunker at the final hole of the 1988 US Open to force a play-off with Faldo, which he won 24 hours later. Fast forward seven years, and Strange missed a six footer against Faldo in a vital Ryder Cup match which Philip Walton eventually won for Europe by the smallest possible margin.

“It you’re out there and don’t feel pressure, you’re not into what you’re doing,” Strange mused. “Anybody who has played this game has done both. It can beat you up if you let it.”

You only have to scroll through a list of majors, Ryder Cups, Walker Cups, not to mention the humble monthly medal at your home club to appreciate what Strange was saying. For people of my generation, what befell Doug Sanders is the greatest example. Then there was Bernhard Langer’s heartbreaking failure from a few yards that would have retained the Ryder Cup for Europe in 1991.

A choke — or a miss? Apparently, it was the latter because the German is best remembered for his two Masters titles. But poor Boo Weekley never had a chance of escaping the choker tag. Needing two putts from 30 feet to claim the Honda, he knocked the first a yard past. He knocked the next left. He lost out in the play-off.

“I was shaking, I won’t lie about that,” he admitted. “I was focusing on getting the ball in the hole and turning and waving to everybody. I made a good stroke but just hammered it.”

Of course, he also got hammered in the press. Compare that with Tiger’s miss against Nick O’Hern: “There was a ball mark I neglected to repair. It’s my fault for not paying attention to detail,” he explained. So that’s okay — because it was the world number one who boobed and made countless “clutch” putts over the years.

2008 US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger put his finger on it: “Circumstances are what define whether it’s perceived if you choked or not. What is choking anyway? Is it the hands shaking? Is it your thought process? Tiger has proved over and over again that there’s not a lot of choke in him. But until Boo Weekley makes a putt like that, people are going to speculate whether he choked.”

The truth also is golf is played at a lot slower pace than any other sport, so the next shot preys on the mind until it can get frazzled. As Rich Beem, a guy who knew a lot of pain until he won the 2002 US PGA Championship, put it: “Every other sport you’re pretty much reacting. Here you’re making the ball react and you have a lot of time to think. Hopefully, you don’t think too much.”