Why can't Vijay hold a lead?

Question

Vijay used to be a pretty good frontrunner. Now he can't seem to hold a lead. He had three strokes in hand with five to play and lost at Pebble. Now he started with a two stroke lead at Arnie's tournament and made a mess of it.

He played four holes in +5, including a 7 on one of the easiest holes. If he shot -2 today, it would pretty much be over.

So is it nerves? Or is he getting too old to handle the pressure of leading?

Answer 1

he says hes working on a new swing.  A new swing wont have that perfect hit all the time so we all have to wait till he gets his  new swing finely tuned.

Go V JAY

Fiji....wooohooo

Answer 2

He's 45 and as you get older you have trouble holding a lot of things. A golf lead is one of the first things to go.

Answer 3

just sitting here wondering if this perfect season is possible.

Answer 4

I like Vee Jay and he is old or something because he has not got the killer instinct.

Answer 5

That stuff does happen all the time, and to players of all types. However, Vijay is a few years over 40. Usually that's the time when suddenly you look up and a player isn't winning tournaments any more. And before you know it, he's tuning up for the Champions tour. (Just don't call it nerves per se; it's not like the guy hasn't been playing under pressure for a decade ... and thriving.)

We'll see how the months ahead treat him, but it's easy to guess that his days in the world's top five are coming to an end.

Answer 6

I think Vijay's swing is the reason why he cant seem to hold a lead.  It is very loose and almost sloppy.  If and when he is not on his game, his swing looks out of sinc and forced.  This is not good, escpecially when playing with a lead and 60 of the worlds best golfers chasing you.  Tiger's swing is very fundamental and techniqual, while Vijay's is more feel.  When he gets nervous or pressured, his feel goes away and he struggles.  Also, It could very well be a mental block as well, but Im not Vijay, so I couldnt tell you...

Answer 7

We have a couple of things working against the once-mighty Vijay Singh.

Firstly, Vijay has not only instituted some significant swing changes, he also is now playing with irons which have a different lie-angle than what he had been playing with.

Those are very significant changes for any pro, and it takes a while for the new swing thoughts and confidence to sink in.  It must become almost second nature, which is a tough thing to implant.

Secondly, Vijay is now 45 years old.  As a guy gets into his mid and late 40s, his body just doesn't respond as quickly and efficiently as it once did.

Furthermore, a 45 year old golfer realizes his chances and opportunities for glory are waning.  This can sometimes result in anxiety and/or impatience on the course.  You want to capitalize so badly on your increasingly fewer shots at winning that you can sometimes get ahead of yourself.

These factors, among even more, are likely hounding the great Vijay right now.  And they will continue to do so.  If he's very fortunate, Vijay has perhaps one, two or three more TOUR victories in the bag.