Patrick Reed wins the Masters: How focus changes everything

It was nearly a Masters for the ages. Jordan Spieth began yesterday’s final round trailing by nine shots. No one in the history of the tournament has ever won from such a large deficit. Spieth actually tied for the lead late in the day, but Patrick Reed held on to win his first major title.

I have been privileged to attend the tournament several times over the years. Television cannot do justice to the difficulty of Augusta National–the narrow rolling fairways, the glass-like greens, the extraordinary precision required to navigate the course.

Patrick Reed survived the pressure yesterday. His victory showed that shutting out the massive crowds, the television cameras, and the burden of winning the most prestigious tournament in golf is essential to success. The Masters demands the best of its champions, as it should.

A troubling New York Times article

Meanwhile, police arrested six people yesterday who are suspected of planning to attack spectators at a half-marathon in Germany. The lead suspect reportedly wanted revenge for the death of Anis Amri, the terrorist who drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016, killing twelve people.

In other international news, President Trump condemned a suspected chemical attack in Syria, warning that “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad.”

Closer to home, I was distressed to read an article in the New York Times titled, “What Sleeping With Married Men Taught Me About Infidelity.” The recently divorced author arranged numerous sexual encounters with married men through social media.

She doesn’t feel guilt over her affairs: “My attitude is that if my spouse were to need something I couldn’t give him, I wouldn’t keep him from getting it elsewhere, as long as he did it in a way that didn’t endanger our family.”

The article is categorized in the Times under “Modern Love.”

“We are far too easily pleased”

In a world like ours, it…