What’s next for Ariya Jutanugarn?
The world No.2 begins her season this week at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. There, she’ll begin the daunting task that Jordan Spieth faced one year ago in trying to match, or even eclipse, a historic season. In 2016, Jutanugarn won five times, became the first player from Thailand to win a major championship and captured the Rolex Player of the Year, Race to CME Globe and money title. Jutanugarn’s accomplishments were made even more impressive given her mental state at the start of the year.
Confidence is everything – and Jutanugarn had very little when she began the 2016 season.
As a rookie in 2015 she missed 10 consecutive cuts on Tour. Her struggles continued into the new year with another missed cut followed by a 75th place finish. Drowning in negative self-talk and diminished confidence, Jutanugarn was beaten down – and it was affecting her game.
“She had lost a lot of confidence and was not enjoying playing and competing,” Jutanugarn’s instructor Gary Gilchrist told LPGA.com. “And had no confidence in driving the ball.”
That was Jutanugarn’s mental outlook when Gilchrist began working with the 45th ranked player in the world in January of 2016.
Despite being one of the longest hitters on Tour, Jutanugarn felt particularly vulnerable with her driver. Gilchrist established a simple practice plan to help rebuild Jutanugarn’s confidence in both her swing and mental game.
“I started by encouraging her because I could see that she was very talented, but was lost and had very little belief in her game,” Gilchrist said. “Her self-talk was negative, telling me she had fear especially in her tee shots.”
Gilchrist works from the belief that the mental game is the foundation for any players’ success. So, when Jutanugarn also began working with Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of Vision54, her game began to flourish.
“The key is to make sure that the student sticks to good routines – mental, physical, warm up on course and off the course routines. We all communicate about the girls’ challenges and our goal is to keep things very simple and precise.”
Vision54 helped change Jutanugarn’s outlook. Nilsson and Marriott implemented a new pre-shot routine in which Jutanugarn can be seen smiling before she addresses the ball. That pre-shot ritual, combined with the encouragement from Gilchrist, quickly began to yield results. In March at the HSBC Women’s Champions Jutanugarn finished fourth.
“She started to feel that there was hope and that she could turn her game around,” said Gilchrist. “The rest is history.”
The pair will stick to the same plan in 2017, but Gilchrist knows he needs to help temper the major champion’s expectations for this season. Their focus is on getting the driver back in Jutanugarn’s bag. The long-hitter repeatedly left the club out of her bag at last season’s biggest events.
“This year, she is ready to hit her driver more often,” said Gilchrist. He’s also encouraging her to “play her own game. Not be pressured into doing things the press wants her to do, like hitting her driver off most tees.”
While the attention has been on Jutanugarn’s length, Gilchrist says it’s really her short game that is her strength. He predicts she’ll be a multiple winner again this season if she can continue to find the fairway. Despite all she accomplished last year, it’s Jutanugarn’s mental game that remains Gilchrist’s focus in 2017.
“If she starts to struggle, keeping her positive and upbeat could be a challenge.”
The opportunities are endless for a confident Jutanugarn in 2017.
)
)
)
)
