My guess would be that he stopped playing in the moment, when a golfer gets ahead of himself/ herself and the mental part of the game gets weaker. You cannot think about past shots or of things to come.
You have to stay in the moment.
The only thing I can compare this to in my own life was getting my teaching card.
On Day 1 of the playing ability test, where you are required to shoot low scores or fail to get your card, I was six holes into the round and had not made any mistakes. My drive was the longest in my group and in the middle of the fairway, with a short shot to the green. While I was waiting on the others to hit up to the green, this wave of emotion came over me I am playing good, I don't play this good, I know that something will go wrong. My heart was pounding and short of breath I was walking around trying to compose myself bit was not working, now it was my turn shaking I hit the ball onto the green and 2 putted for my par.
The next hole was a par 5 and I was first to go on the tee box still shaken by what was going, I hit my tee shot and it went into the woods at that moment all the presser disappeared, as if I was waiting to make a mistake! I went into the woods now feeling normal again and found my ball. I had an opening through the woods I could hit a low draw 200 yards short of the water and be ok! I hit it just like I saw it in my mind and got up and down for par.
I went on to shoot the lowest round of the day! And the second day too; and the lowest total for the tournament to win and get my teaching card. All that to say; after that emotional experience I played 1 shot at a time; not looking back, or forward. Even if I hit a bad shot, I would recover with good management of the course and my emotions.
I believe Roy's emotion got to him in the Masters and he never recovered from that day.
But in the US Open he took that lesson with great playing ability and went all the way.
Well done Rory!
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