The Open - How Tiger can win at St Andrews.

Sport psychologist Simon Houghton analyses the mental difficulties Tiger Woods will face at St Andrews - and offers the world number three keys to tackle them.

Tiger Woods has got golf fans wondering what is going on like never before.
Will he ever recapture the magic of the past? Will he go on to eclipse Jack Nicklaus's amazing record of 18 Major victories?
And it's not just the fans who will be wondering these things, because Tiger will stroll out at St Andrews on Thursday with more worries on his mind than ever before.
Divorce from his wife, revelations about his sordid private life, his recent neck injury and the ongoing probe into his former doctor Anthony Galea... the list goes on, and unless Tiger can put his off-course worries out of his mind he will not be able to hit top form.
With that in mind, these are the three keys that Tiger needs if he is to win a third Open at the home of golf - and an action plan to help him achieve it.

- - - -
1. Find his self-belief:
The fire that Tiger Woods had during the previous Major wins needs to come back. The numerous things going on in Tiger's life have all contributed to the dampening of his aggressive, attacking nature which was so prevalent in the past.
Tiger has always been at his best when he has been able to will that ball into the hole, and for him to have a chance of winning at St Andrews, that magic needs to return.
Tiger's action #1: Tiger needs to use visualisation to run through his Major wins of the past. Picturing himself winning those earlier trophies will help him focus on enhancing his confidence and self-belief.

2. Focus on the game, one shot at a time:
Tiger might be one of the best ballstrikers in the game, but the keys to performing consistently at the very highest level are the ability to focus on the shot in hand and to minimise the interference going on around you.
He needs to forget about the occasion, the public, the massed throngs of the media, and the critical millions watching on TV.
Then he has to forget about the poor shots, ignore the way the tournament is unfolding and concentrate 100 per cent on each and every shot - just like he did in the old days.
Tiger's action #2: Tiger needs to develop a mantra, key phrase or image that becomes the inspiration that he takes with him throughout the week at St Andrews. Easily remembered, accessible and believable, this should be referred to regularly to bring him back to the job in hand - especially when a negative thought throws him off his game.

3. Deal with the negativity, and rationalise the issues:
In Tiger's case it is absolutely critical that he can 'park' his problems: put the issues to one side, focus on the business at hand.
Tiger is essentially made up of two people: Tiger the golfer, and Tiger off the course. He needs to be able to see all the issues that are going on in his life as part of Tiger off the course, and give permission to allow Tiger the golfer to do what he does best: play golf like nobody else in the world.
Can Tiger off the course accept the burden of all the off-course antics? If he can, he will free up Tiger the golfer to play.
Tiger's action #3: It's crucial for Tiger to identify the issues that will help and motivate him to play the golf he wants to demonstrate at St Andrews this week. To do that he needs to rationalise his other problems: accept that they exist, but understand that they play no further part in his preparations for the Open - and commit to doing something about them after the tournament.