1. Rory Mcilroy
“Rors” fearless Northern Irish youngster loves to play in the wind as we saw at St. Andrews with a 3rd place finish. A 9th last week (and one of only 2 players to shoot under par for all 4 rounds) at Firestone, his form is excellent. Will always compete till the final putt drops and can win from behind. Having a win under his belt this season, he knows he is capable of playing with the best.

2. Jim Furyk
2 wins and 10 top 10s this season means he is on great form coming into this major. Although not long off the tee, he’s very accurate and has all the experience to be in contention on Sunday afternoon.

3. Retief Goosen
12th in total driving, and 8 top 10s from 14 starts on the PGA Tour (3rd in scoring average) make him a very strong contender.

4. Hunter Mahan
2 victories this year and first in Total Driving (which for me is the key stat this week). His form and confidence must be very high.

5. Dustin Johnson
He’s long and straight from the tee and on a course with 4 par 5’s, his 2nd on number of eagles stat will do him no harm. He birdies the par 3’s too (currently 5th on birdies on par 3’s). Four top 10s this season and a win gives him a great chance to claim his first major.

6. Justin Rose
2 wins and 9 top 10s on the PGA Tour this season along with plenty of experience for a young player give him a great chance this week.

7. Luke Donald
Four finishes in the top 6 this season puts Donald as one of my favourite picks. He leads scrambling on the PGA Tour and his low ball flight means the wind won’t be a worry for the Englishman. If he putts well he’ll go close.

8. Tim Clark
He’s accurate off the tee (5th in driving accuracy) and tied for 3rd on number of top 10 finishes this season. Clark also leads proximity to the hole stats. He won the Players Championship earlier in the year so he knows he can compete in the big events.

9. Miguel Angel Jimenez
2 wins in big European Tour events this season and a 65 in round 2 when it was played at Whistling in 2004, means he has the confidence in his ability to score there.

10. The Long-shot: Brian Gay
This season he’s is 3rd in Driving accuracy, 2nd in scrambling & 5th in putts per round. Whistling Straits is a course where all these components could make him a contender. Although not the longest of hitters, when the PGA Championship was hosted at Whistling Straits in 04 there were a number of short hitters in the top 25.

Whistling Straits (Straits Course) Scorecard

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REUTERS/Shaun Best

Not thinking about the 1 of 7 cuts he had previously made in a major, Oosthuizen had a calmness about him all week. While others were focusing on the “unfairness” of the weather conditions, Louis looked as if his aim was to have fun and simply enjoy the challenge of playing one of the world’s best courses on the biggest stage.

But just how did he keep his composure and remain so efficient in his process with such intense pressure on his shoulders? A four shot lead in the final round of a major can be erased in a matter of minutes (remember Dustin Johnson at Pebble?) but he never looked like blowing up and losing his grip on the Claret Jug. His secret? A little red dot just above the thumb on the glove on his left hand

Known as a “Concentration Trigger” the aim of the red dot was to take him deep into the zone during his Pre-shot Routine. The theory behind this is that in golf, a game that lasts for up to 5 hours with continuous stops and starts, a player has to be adept at switching from a relaxed state into a highly focused state that connects them with the shot they are about to play. Louis Oosthuizen recognized that past failures to perform were largely due to poor temperament and lack of focus, not lack of talent. By looking at the Red Dot it told him all his focus had to be on the shot at hand.

In other sports this is easier to achieve (e.g. a referees whistle), but in golf, you are on your own. Using the trigger, Louis was able to stay calm between shots, and then regain his focus when needed. A visual trigger like this can be all that is needed to immerse you in the shot and give it 100% of your concentration.

For Louis, looking at the Red Dot, was his trigger to go into a deeply focused state of intense concentration during his Pre-shot Routine and stick to his process of executing every shot as best he could.

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Technorati Tags: Concentration, golf, Louis Oosthuizen, Mental Game, NLP, Red Dot