Leaderboard: do top players look?

Can a golfer go 72 holes without looking at the leaderboard?

That was the question posed by Golf Night after claims that some players concentrate solely on their own game and do not know their position until after the final hole.

Some sports psychologists are urging players to avoid finding out how their rivals are doing so that they can maintain focus on their own form, but the Golf Night regulars were in agreement that they would prefer to know where they stood and allow that to dictate their decision making on the course.

It's an interesting debate, so we spoke to some of the biggest names in the game at the European Open to find out whether or not they were leaderboard watchers.

Thomas Levet

I'm always watching the leaderboard from the day I start the tournament until the end. Why? Because it gives you an idea how the course is playing, especially on a course you don't know because you can play too conservatively on new courses. When you look at the leaderboard it gives you an idea if you should be more aggressive.

Thomas Bjorn

When you're playing well I don't think it really matters; you're confident with what you're doing so you're not really bothered what everybody else is doing. But it's nice to know where you are.

Nick Dougherty

I am a leaderboard watcher, but I wish I wasn't. It's my nature to want to know what's going on, but I think in the professional game it's quite well-known that most of the time it does no good whatsoever to know what's going on because you've still got to play your game.

Bradley Dredge

For me it's important to look at the boards, particularly coming down the last nine holes to see what players are doing around you and I think you've got to be able to respond to that. That's what the best players in the world do.

Graeme McDowell

I like to know how things stand. I think if I had a three or four shot lead I might keep my head down and try to play my own game, but if I'm in the mix and I'm not sure what's going on I do like to see where I stand, especially with six or seven holes to go on a Sunday afternoon. I like to know what I need to do.

Ross Fisher

I do and I don't. Sometimes if you're playing well you want to see how you're doing in comparison to the other guys, so on occasions I do. But sometimes it's quite nice to go out there and not get distracted by seeing your name up in lights because some people will inevitably drop shots. So sometimes I keep my head foucussed on what I'm trying to do one shot at a time and then take a look after I've finished.

Robert Karlsson

The only thing I'm trying to do is play my golf ball as good as I can. It doesn't make any difference what the other players are doing. It's easy to lose your focus if you get outside of yourself and look at what other players are doing. I'm just focussing on what I can do.

Click on the video in the top right of your screen to see the views of our Golf Night panel.