Masters 2026: Just 'try harder'? When struggling at Augusta National, the answer is usually the opposite
A slow start can invite bigger problems when a player starts pressing.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Football players can hit harder. Basketball players can run the floor faster.
When a golfer senses he’s lagging in a tournament, what does it mean to try harder? This was a worthwhile question on the first day of the Masters, when some players could look at a leaderboard and fear they were already losing ground. In other sports, a sense of urgency can be motivating.
In golf, it risks making things worse. “Ideally, you would shift your focus to trying to be more present and trying to go through your process better, but I think typically we try and hit the hardest shot,” Max Homa said after finishing at even par. “So you try to force a birdie instead of knowing you could maybe make a 40-footer or chip one in.
” Watch the highlights after a golf tournament and there will likely be one of the winner pulling off a low-percentage shot under pressure. That it worked out well for one player is different than saying it was the smart decision. “Because someone that day also tried that,” Homa said, “and it blew up in their face.