Rotella became head of the sports psychology department at the University of Virginia in 1976.
But Rotella views his role as a part of the new way of doing things.
Rotella spent years honing his ideas about what keeps people from choking in pressure situations.
"I told him what great shots those were to save double bogey, " says Rotella.
Rotella has lectured to chief executives and managers at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
The fact that most of Rotella's work happens on the golf course is by design.
On the practice green before the playoff Rotella emerged from the crowd to hover by Harrington's side.
Coming from a golfing buddy that would be a wisecrack, but this is from Robert Rotella, sports psychologist.
Rotella was born and raised in Rutland, Vermont, the son of a barber.
"I think that 95% of this game is mental, " says Harrington, who has worked with Rotella for the past nine years.
"He's not telling me anything I don't already know, " says Dana Quigley, a pro golfer who has worked with Rotella for a decade.
Rotella, a trim 58-year-old with dark, bushy eyebrows and deeply etched laugh lines, has fashioned a career out of teaching the virtues of optimism.
Rotella, who charges thousands of dollars per session, has worked with players for the New York Yankees, basketball's New Jersey Nets and football's Baltimore Ravens.
Rotella told Brad to concentrate instead on what he's good at.
Rotella says underperformance is caused by a lack of confidence.
"Hey, you struck that really well, " Rotella says, cheerfully.
According to Rotella, the trap, grass and creek are just distractions, manifestations of my self-critical conscious brain, which needs to be sublimated in favor of my more intuitive and instinctual unconscious brain.
Rotella counsels amateurs--he helped Gary Burkhead, the 66-year-old retired chief executive of FMR, work his handicap down from the 20s to 4--but works mainly with 100 or so golf professionals, including Tom Kite, Ernie Els and Davis Love III.
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