Will we see gamesmanship in Austin?

Austin, Texas – Some guys talk a lot. Others not at all. Some might dictate pace of play. Some play subterfuge with club selection. There are many ways to try to add tactical nous to a match play battle. It is one of the beauties of the format we have this week as the best players in the world take on each other one-on-one in the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play. Some guys can be ruthless. Others too friendly. Finding out who each guy is could be a fascinating part of this week. Some guys don’t bother with the mental side of the encounter. They are in their own world. Defending champion Dustin Johnson would fit into that category. Others engage in tactical play for sure. Canvassing the range at Austin Country Club to hear about some of the methods players have perhaps used or been subjected to was interesting indeed. Of course, going on record about a potential opponent this week is not smart business, so lots of information came with anonymity. Multiple players talked about how opponents use the verbal game as a weapon. Perhaps they talk a lot to distract. Perhaps it is the content of the conversation. Back-handed compliments that get players thinking is a common theme. Maybe it is someone telling you how great it was to see you successful, even with that swing quirk you have. Maybe it is just talking about all their own success over and over. On the flipside, some opponents use words as a weapon by not using them at all. Normally friendly – in a match they give you nothing. Make you feel like you’ve done something wrong. Have you wonder why they are all of a sudden mute. This mental mind game might produce the one loose swing that could turn a match. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really tried to sort of put any gamesmanship on anyone. I might make someone hole a really short putt from time to time or give them a few three-footers and then make them putt one further along the match,â€� the 2015 champion Rory McIlroy said. “There might be guys that you chat and sort of talk the whole way around and it’s a friendly, cordial match, or there’s guys that would prefer not to.â€� Two-time runner-up of the event Paul Casey laughed when recalling days early in his career when playing against non-English speaking opponents. “The language barrier was used a couple of times as to whether putts were conceded or not,â€� he smiled of his amateur career. “I remember a player – as his coin was very close to my line and we were still both about ten feet away and he kind of looked at me. I assumed he looked at me to confirm whether his marker was in my line and it needed to be moved. And I said, that’s okay there. So, he picked it up. And then of course his perfect English became… well, he lost his ability to understand English all of a sudden.â€� Another classic trick mentioned was around club selection off the tee. If hitting first you can have your caddy cover the irons with a towel on the par-3’s so there was no way of seeing what club has been selected. You might then have an audible conversation with that caddy about your “7-ironâ€� when in fact you have an 8-iron in your hand. The opposing player than might be tricked into using the wrong club. If you are hitting second – particularly at a drivable par-4 – always grab the driver out of the bag to immediately signal your intention to go for it. This may tempt the opponent to take on more risk than they need to. Pace of play is another method. If your opponent likes to play fast, walk slow. If they are on the slower side, walk fast and hope they lift to your tempo and fall out of rhythm. Two-time champion Jason Day has often talked about trying to be the guy who frustrates his opponent with not just his short game, but other facets also. He is known for not conceding putts and trying to portray strength at all times. “Something really easy that you can do is, if you’re down in the match and it’s later in the match, always walk forward in front of the person that you’re playing against, just so that you’re letting them know that you’re pushing forward and you’re also letting them know that you’re still hanging around,â€� he said on the eve of his attempt to join Tiger Woods as the only three-time champions. “People feed off body language. If I’m looking across and he’s got his shoulders slumped and his head is down, you can tell he’s getting frustrated, that’s when you push a little bit harder.â€� Day, and others, warned of annoying certain players, though. Jordan Spieth was asked what he has to do to beat long-time teammate Patrick Reed, and the simple answer was not to upset him. Reed plays much better angry. Day had seen it first-hand a few years earlier when his methods fired up a young Russell Henley, and the American made a big late comeback forcing Day to extra holes. “You’ve got to know when to push and kind of take it back in, because sometimes if you push too hard and they get a little bit angry with you, you can actually turn them into a good player because they can feed off that anger,â€� Day explains. “So the mental side of things is tough because you’ve got to kind of watch who you’re playing against, feed off what their body language is doing and how they’re playing and know when to take the risks and not take the risks.â€� Spieth expects a bit of shenanigans in his matches. And he’s okay with it. “I think everybody involved or everybody that’s playing thinks… don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s part of it. It should be fun,â€� the Texan says. “There should be some gamesmanship. That’s the way it is in every other sport, we just never play one-on-one or team versus team like other sports do.â€� But at the end of the day – no matter what tricks or tactics you might employ – you have to play better than your opponent. “Here’s the thing. Birdie, birdie, Eagle, birdie – that’s what wins matches,â€� Casey said. “If you are more worried about what tactics you are using and not on your golf, then your focus is on the wrong thing. Play better and you will advance.â€�

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