Perseverance

When I originally started crafting this week’s Huddle Up in the early hours on Father’s Day, the message was going to be about traditions. The US Open golf championship always ends on Father’s Day with the champion inevitably thanking his dad for teaching him the game of golf. It has been this way for 50 years. Win the national championship in the toughest test in golf, thank dad on his annual holiday. An awesome tradition indeed.

However, on the way to the office so to speak, some things changed. Let me explain…..

A journeyman golfer named JJ Spaun won the US Open. And it happened in a most unusual way.

Midway through the final round, JJ was playing awful and had faded back some six shots from the leaders. He bogeyed five of his first six holes. It was going so badly, that even when JJ hit a good shot, something bad happened. On the second hole of the day, he hit a shot that should have ended up right next to the hole. Instead of an easy birdie putt, the ball hit the flagstick and bounded 59 yards (yes that is correct) back down the fairway and he made a bogey.

In golf, the difference between winning a major championship or losing is often a good break here or there. Having what could have been a birdie (good) turn into a bogey (real bad) usually derails the chances at hoisting the trophy.

When things were at their worst for JJ, a rain delay came. The 90-minute delay allowed JJ time for a reset. Kind of a natural half-time that exists in team sports. In golf when you are hacking it around, you just have to keep going. In this case, the rain delay provided JJ time to reset his mind and his attitude. The US Open is impossible. If you miss a shot by a foot, things can get ugly.

After the delay, JJ reset and was the best player on the course the rest of the way. Capped off by a made 50-foot putt on the final green to seal the deal. His wife and two daughters running onto the green for many hug and tears.

What a great lesson for us all. When things get bad, and the “course” is tough, keep your head down and keep grinding it out.

A great lesson in perseverance for us all, golfers or not.

Happy Father’s Day JJ. A day you, your family, and the golf community, will likely never forget.