This simple breathing exercise helped Lottie Woad win the Augusta National Women's Amateur. It can help you, too

Lottie Woad found herself in the unenviable position of having to play the last five holes of Augusta National two under to force a playoff with Bailey Shoemaker at the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The then 20-year-old from England had just made bogey on the par-5 13th, and had lost the two-shot lead she had at the beginning of the round. Yet what she did next was dazzling, becoming an instant entry in not only ANWA lore, but Augusta National’s as well: Woad birdied 15, 17 and 18. She didn’t even need the playoff. She’d won the title

So how did Woad manage the intensity of that moment, when she saw her lead disappear on the leaderboard and then rebound by going on a birdie streak in the closing holes? Looking back on the event nearly a year later, the Florida State standout said that for her it came down to breathing.

“I try to focus on my breathing a lot,” Woad said. “Pre-shot and between shots, counting breaths or something like that just to try and keep me in the moment and not think ahead.”

While standing and waiting for someone to hit, instead of filling that time with concern about the next shot she needed to hit, Woad was counting breaths.

“If I ever feel like I need to get back in the moment, I’ll just try and do that,” Woad said.

This is a technique that performance gurus Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott also promote. “Breathing calms you down and you stay present in your body,” Nilsson explains. “Counting distracts the mind from thinking other unwanted thoughts. So many players could use more tools to manage themselves between shots.”

Keeping your mind from wandering into negative hypotheticals or letting the feeling of pressure build up and create tension is key to being able to convert shots in high-intensity situations.

Another thing Woad does to manage pressure-packed moments is to reframe pressure as a positive thing.

“Pressure is a privilege,” said Woad, the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world who is trying to become the first player to successfully defend her ANWA title in the coming days. “If you feel like you're under pressure, it probably means that you're doing well or doing something right.”