Twenty-five-year-old American Cheyenne Knight is currently in her fourth full LPGA season, and ahead of this week’s event, The Ascendant LPGA Benefitting Volunteers of America — a tournament Knight won in 2019 — she explained that she feels as though she’s only just now getting the hang of how to stay competitive week-in and week-out.
“I’ve started to kind of figure it out, just what I need to do to play well,” she said. “It’s been kind of like a mix of kind of turning it off when I leave the golf course. We play so much, so when I leave the golf course I need to find other things that I enjoy doing so I don’t get burnt out. I kind of experienced a little bit of that last year.”
Knight is still seeking her second career LPGA win, but she’s given herself plenty of chances to add to her tally, with six career top-10s, including two just this year. She’c currently 42nd in the CME ranking.
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“I’m focusing on my craft and what I need to do to play well and the things I need to do every day to improve,” Knight continued. “Kind of process-over-result type mentality. But that’s helped me a lot this year, just having other things that I enjoy doing has happened a lot, too.”
So what are those other things? According to Knight, they’re as simple as simply taking a mental break away from the course. Or, an impromptu shopping trip.
“I feel like golf takes such a long time,” Knight said. “We’re out here for hours day. Just not dwelling on the round. I like to shop, even if it’s just going to Target.”
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Knight is definitely on to something when it comes to her remedy for on-course fatigue. Even top players on the men’s side like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have admitted to battling fatigue are various points in their careers, so recognizing it when it happens and combatting it in your own way are important keys to success as a competitive player.
Plus, who can resist a mid-week visit to Target?