They say football is a game of inches. Golf is a game of inches, feet and yards, with each unit of measurement being equally important. It’s nice if you’re great off of the tee, but if you can’t putt it’s all for naught. Ditto if you have great short game but you strike the ball poorly.

When you play golf at the highest of levels, you realize just how much every shot counts. And it’s not just missing a six-foot putt that you should have made. It might be missing a fairway by mere inches. But being in the rough changes your shot and instead of going right at the flag, you now have to play more conservatively. That means you get a par instead of a birdie. When you miss the cut or lose the tournament by a single stroke, it’s those small things that you go back and reflect on.