Reframing Rory

A CHANCE AT REDEMPTION

The late afternoon sun filtered through the Georgia pines, casting long shadows over Augusta National as the gallery pressed in around the 18th green. Rory McIlroy stood utterly alone, in a moment he had dreamed about all his life but had learned to dread over the last decade.

It was a relatively short putt for par with just enough break to make the line elusive. Nothing Augusta hadn’t thrown at him before. But this wasn’t just any putt. This was the putt. For the Masters. For the career Grand Slam. For redemption.

We remember McIlroy bursting into the golf world as a prodigy, all floppy curls and fearless drives, winning 4 majors in his first 7 years as a professional. We were braced for a period of dominance, the Grand Slam seemed like destiny, just a matter of time.

Until Sunday, memories of Rory as a winner felt distant as he became more defined by his recent failures rather than his early success. He had become the nearly man of the majors, finishing in the top ten 21 times since his last major victory but never being able to quite make it across the finish line. Most recently, less than a year ago, Rory squandered a two-shot lead over the final five holes of the US Open. At Augusta, he famously collapsed in 2011, turning a four-shot lead into a gut-wrenching 80 on Sunday. The image of a 21-year-old McIlroy, standing under the trees off the 10th fairway, shoulders slumped, haunted the sport for years.

And now here he was, standing over the putt that could finally, finally end the tournament. It wasn’t just the chance to join the elite five who had completed the Grand Slam. It was a chance to silence the ghosts. To prove to himself and everyone else that he could do it.

He took a deep breath. His hands gripped the putter. He stepped into his stance. The world shrank as his eyes narrowed, focused on a line only he could see, one he had visualised thousands of times in practice, in dreams, in silent, obsessive rehearsal. One stroke. One moment. Everything on the line.

It missed.

His dreams dashed, his world seemingly falling in around him. Another potential failure to add to the list. The dropped shot meant he had to face a playoff, back down the same hole in which he’d just floundered. How could any human pick themselves backup and get in the right headspace to take on the challenge again?

It was then on his way back to the 18^th tee box that his caddy, and childhood friend, Harry Diamond uttered some words of wisdom

“Well Pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning”

It is not exactly Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, but it is enough to influence Rory’s mindset, providing him with perspective and allowing him to reset. This helped Rory view the situation as a great opportunity to win, rather than dwell on a chance lost. The right words at exactly the right time. From there, Rory did precisely what he had to do. The rest is history.

A Shift in Perspective, A Shift in Possibility

Sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs don’t come from changing the situation but from changing how we see it. That’s the magic of reframing, a psychological technique rooted in cognitive behavioural theory that’s been helping people think differently (and more effectively) for decades.

Harry’s words were a great example.

At its core, reframing is about shifting perspective. Imagine viewing a problem not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity. Or seeing a failure not as a defeat, but as feedback. This concept gained traction through the work of psychologists like Aaron T. Beck and later, his student David Burns, who used reframing in cognitive therapy to help patients challenge distorted thoughts and improve mental health outcomes. The most famous illustration is the “glass half full or half empty” metaphor, an example of how a single reality can be experienced in vastly different ways depending on your mental frame.

Academically, the idea was given weight by studies like those conducted by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, who showed how framing effects influence decision-making. In their landmark 1981 study, they presented people with two scenarios about a disease outbreak. Though the scenarios described identical outcomes, people made drastically different choices based solely on how the options were framed, highlighting the emotional weight our perspective carries.

Today, reframing isn’t just a tool for therapists, it’s a strategy used by business leaders, marketers, and innovators. In meetings, reframing a “problem” as a “challenge” can instantly open the floor to creative thinking. In customer experience, reframing a delay as an opportunity to delight with a surprise bonus can shift a negative into a positive. And in leadership, reframing uncertainty as potential helps teams stay agile and inspired, rather than stuck.

As Rory demonstrated on Sunday, the ability to reframe can make all the difference.

FURTHER READING

📚 “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
A must-read for understanding how framing influences decision-making, drawn from decades of Nobel-winning research in behavioural economics.

🗣️ TED Talk: “The Power of Believing You Can Improve” by Carol Dweck
While it’s about mindset, it’s a great example of reframing struggle and failure as part of growth. It’s short, inspiring, and applicable to work and life.

🧑‍💻 HBR: “To Solve a Tough Problem, Reframe It” by Michael D. Watkins
This article breaks down how companies use reframing in design thinking to generate more creative solutions.

SOME FINAL WISE WORDS

Until next time

Business lessons from the world of sport