Overcoming ‘sabog’ is golf’s true test
“SABOG” is a golfer’s ultimate horror.
I’m not sure if explosion or even implosion is the appropriate English translation but the Filipino term is strikingly accurate in describing a disaster on the course.
Regardless of skill, “sabog” can happen to any golfer. It’s when your score goes completely haywire: you can’t hit any fairway, are messy around the green and can’t sink even the shortest putt. You have no hangover, are in good health and slept well. You’ve been playing regularly, even putting in an hour or two in the driving range. Yet, you can’t understand what’s wrong.
There’s no explanation for the rude tricks the game is playing on you. Before you know it, you’re way over your handicap or your average (in case you’re a scratch player or brilliant amateur or even a pro). But you simply have to play on.
This is exactly what three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson did in the ongoing tournament, providing us with a lesson on how to play through golf’s humbling horrors.
In Round 1, Mickelson was but a shadow of his past brilliance as he could only make seven greens in regulation. On a day when the young guns of the game were knocking down 67s and 68s, Mickelson could only muster a 74.
It was an agonizing 74 not only because of the missed fairway shots but also because he could not get any consistent birdie rhythm. At the level of play in the Majors, birdies are the thing and Mickelson could only score five. He even had a horrendous triple bogey on the 10th, unimaginable but possible for a player even of Michelson’s abilities because of the nature of the game.
But Mickelson taught us to take your lumps and go through every agonizing step. If you stay focused, you will survive. That is, unless it’s really not your tournament to win.
And Mickelson did overcome. He played better the next day, pocketing a competitive 68 that placed him at two under for the tournament. Then, in Round 3, Mickelson waxed hot with a 66, going bogey-free while scoring an eagle and four birdies, including one on that 10th hole that horrified him on the first day. Now, Mickelson enters the final day at eight under, just one stroke behind leader Peter Hanson and in contention for a fourth green jacket.
“Sabog” happens to the best of them. Tiger Woods was not as lucky in overcoming his struggles. TV analyst and former Masters champion Nick Faldo put it succinctly when he commented that Woods had “become like all of us” as the former No. 1 player was affected by bad shots and was trying a tad too hard to score well. Faldo said that in the past, when Woods was in a “paranormal state” and nothing could bother him, nobody could beat him. After three rounds, Woods was three over and nowhere close to the leaders.
Golf reminds us that life’s bumps and bunkers are unavoidable and we must be patient to be able to ride the tide. It remains to be seen if Mickelson would be able to win his fourth jacket and complete one of the most compelling comebacks in Masters history. As of now, he has taught us how to face adversity squarely and not succumb to it.
