Desire and opportunity — a lesson for all of us

Published 10:13pm Friday, July 30, 2010

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” Mario Andretti – race car driver

When an Alabama teen shot a score of 14-under par earlier this week in a tournament in Mobile, it showed just how unfair the game of golf can be.

It also showed that determination and desire can lead people to great things.

For 18 holes Wednesday Bobby Wyatt, a University of Alabama commitment, trudged through the Country Club of Mobile and did something no one else in the history of golf had done. In the process, he bettered the course record by six shots. Had he only equaled the course record, he would have ended in a tie for first place for the tournament.

Success is a funny thing.

In order for one person to succeed, another must also fail. The difference is the desire to be just that much better than those around you.

But it also requires luck.

Thousands of rounds of golf are played every year by people with more experience, more local knowledge, more favorable conditions and longer drives than Wyatt. But on Wednesday, all the factors necessary came together for Wyatt.

Wyatt was the best for the tournament, but he was only the best overall one day of the three-day event.

More than one person shot a better score two out of the three days, but when the perfect conditions arose, Wyatt did not let them go to waste.

We should all be so lucky.