While most PGA Tour professionals have been struck with a case of Tigeritis (the belief that because Tiger Woods is so superior that everyone else is playing for second place), Las Vegas native Robert Gamez has been afflicted with a different mental setback -- himself.
It's not that the good-natured Gamez is afraid he'll never win again -- if anything he is very confident he will -- it's just that he has put too much pressure on himself to perform and the results have been less than satisfactory to the 10-year veteran.
Gamez needed to finish strongly at the end of this year to retain his PGA Tour card, but missed the cut of the last two events he entered and finished tied for 49th at the Invensys Classic.
"I think I got mentally tired more than anything," Gamez said Wednesday at the Aladdin hotel-casino, where he announced a new sponsorship for his charity golf tournament. "I played a lot of golf early in the year going back and forth between the regular tour and the Buy.com tour.
"Towards the middle to late summer and end of the year, I had played so much and worked so hard that I think I lost a little mentally. I just tried too hard and that's the one thing you can't do in golf. And no matter how hard I tried to try less, it worked against me."
Gamez was at the Aladdin to talk about the Aladdin Classic Golf Tournament, which he will be hosting on Jan. 29 at the TPC at Summerlin. In previous years, Gamez held his own charity tournament, but was thrilled when the resort wanted to become the main sponsor.
The tournament will benefit St. Jude's Ranch, Ronald McDonald House and First Tee. The field of 132 will include 22 celebrities and 22 PGA Tour pros.
Former NBA star Charles Barkley, boxer Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns and Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Kevin Elster are among those who have already committed to play. PGA Tour pros John Daly and Fuzzy Zoeller have also signed up.
"The Aladdin is helping us get some of the celebrities we couldn't get before and I think it's going to be a bigger and better event," Gamez said. "We are going to be able to donate a lot more money to the charities and have a bigger auction."
Gamez hasn't won a tournament since his rookie year when he won the Northern Telecom Tucson Open and the Nestle Invitational.
He finished this year 145th on the money list ($259,305). Only the top 120 retain their tour cards, but Gamez estimates he will get exemptions into at least 15 to 20 tournaments because of his tour status and finish on the money list.
To help him have a better season next year, Gamez flew to Virginia last week to meet with renowned sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who has worked with many golfers including David Duval.
Gamez decided it was time to fix his head after he spent most of this year working on all of the physical aspects of his game. Since his car accident in June of 1998 kept him from competing for two months, Gamez decided to rededicate himself to golf.
"I know I'm playing better than I ever have," he said. "I'm hitting the ball better, my skills in putting are better and my short game is better."
Gamez then mused, "Now it's just a matter of staying out of my own way and playing golf.
"He opened my eyes to some things that I think are going to help. My putting has been the one part of my game that has been my downfall over the years and he taught me a different way to think about putting and I'm really looking forward to getting started again."
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