On the other hand, an attack of overconfidence is apt to be fully as disastrous. Overconfidence and carelessness are teammates. South Africa's Bobby Locke, as tough a competitor as ever strode the fairways, maintained an absolutely stolid demeanor. This kind of player never takes anything for granted and cannot be lulled into complacency by a successful run over a few holes. The natural tendency is to be a bit lackadaisical about the first few holes of a match.
Some players even cling to the perverse belief that a victory at hole number one is a bad omen.
The wise player thus gets straight to business, with a minimum of socializing on the early holes. Tactic 5 DON'T GIVE UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN Golf history is full of stories of players who came back from seemingly impossible deficits. The most astounding may be the match between Al Watrous and Bobby Cruickshank in the 1932 PGA Championship. Nine holes down with 12 to play, Cruickshank fought his way back and won in sudden death. More recently, Tiger Woods capped his amateur career in 1996 by coming from five holes down in the final match to win his third consecutive U.S. Amateur.