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Editor's Note: With a game ruled by numbers, it's time to have a way to break down what all those numbers really mean. With that in mind, we introduce By The Numbers, a blog where you can find stats-driven stories on anything and everything from ShotLink data to the different rankings to how equipment changes factor into a player's success to, well, any and every shot taken on TOUR. Interesting ShotLink statistics from 2006 - Part Four By Mike Vitti This final segment takes a look at a few of the more interesting ShotLink statistics from 2006 on the green. Players on the PGA TOUR are always making some pretty impressive putts, but who made the longest? Well, in 2006 the longest putt holed is credited to Simon Dyson at the World Golf Championships - American Express Championship. In fact two of the three longest putts of the year were recorded in the same round of that event and both were putts to save par.
One of the more interesting statistics to track on TOUR is total length of putts made per round. This statistic is an aggregate sum of the length of all the putts made per round. The TOUR average for this statistic in 2006 was 73 feet, 9 inches, and the leader in this category was Ben Crane at 84 feet. Usually if a player totals over 100 feet of putts in a round he has had a pretty good day on the course, but there were a few players who had really good days when it came to holing putts. Brent Geiberger, J.J. Henry and Chris Smith the highest totals for a round in 2006 as they were the only three players to hole out more than 200 feet worth of putts in a single round.
Interesting ShotLink statistics from 2006 - Part Three By Mike Vitti The average rate for greens in regulation on the PGA TOUR in 2006 was 65.27 percent - meaning that on average players missed the green about six times per round. Overall, the average scrambling success rate on the missed attempts was 57.54 percent, but there were some impressive individual performances. The highest number of successful conversion attempts in a single round was 11 - an impressive feat accomplished by five players. Perhaps the most interesting aspect about this is that none of the players on this list finished better than 60th in scrambling success in 2006.
Continuing with the around the green theme, Olin Browne led the way this season in most successful scrambles in an event -- recording an amazing 30 saves of par or better over the course of four rounds at the Nissan Open. Browne was also the only player to make the top five in the event and round categories.
PGA TOUR players are extremely accurate with their irons, and fire at the pins at every opportunity. However, there are a few holes on TOUR where just hitting the green in regulation is the goal, as the scrambling success rate on these holes is low and recovering from an errant shot to save par is not an easy task.
Interesting 2006 ShotLink Statistics - Part Two By Mike Vitti Approach the Green
Sticking with course statistics, some of the par 3s and par 4s offered their own degree of difficulty to the players on TOUR. As usual, the 520-yard, par-4 fifth hole at East Lake proved to be a daunting task during THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola with roughly 23 percent of the players hitting the green in regulation. As for the par 3s, the fourth hole at Riviera Country Club proved to be the toughest with only about a quarter of the attempts safely finding the putting surface.
By Mike Vitti Now that the 2006 PGA TOUR season is complete, I thought it might be interesting to compile and share some of the more intriguing ShotLink statistics collected over the course of the year. Today we will start with driving statistics, and then progress to on-the-green statistics and finish with some scoring statistics.
Off the Tee
On the other end of the spectrum we find another dogleg left. With a generous landing area, the eighth hole at Westchester Country Club had the easiest fairway to find, but even with almost 95 percent of the approach shots coming from the fairway, this 471-yard par 4 still had a scoring average of .167 strokes over par.
As far as individual performances, it is no surprise to find the 2006 driving accuracy leader, Joe Durant, at the top of the list for the best driving accuracy performance in a single event. Durant missed only one fairway for the entire week at the 84 LUMBER Classic. Scott Gump hit 27 of his first 28 fairways at the John Deere Classic, but unfortunately he was only able to find 61 percent of the greens in regulation and missed the cut.
Scott's keys to victory -- 2006 TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola By Mike Vitti Adam Scott's win was his tenth top-10 finish in 19 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2006. In winning the PGA TOUR's season-ending event, he earned $1.17 million and finished with just under $5 million in total earnings - good for third position on the final money list. • Leading the field in total driving, Scott used both power and accuracy to set-up his approaches to the green. He hit 66.1 percent of the fairways while 28.6 percent of his tee shots on the par 4s and par 5s traveled at least 300 yards. • Scott used his strong play off the tee to set up his scoring opportunities. He was tied for second in going for the green; tied for third in going for the green-hit green percentage; and was fourth in birdie or better percentage from the fairway. • Strong all week with his long irons, Scott finished first in greens in regulation on approaches over 200 yards as well as on approaches ranging from 150-175 yards. Overall, he was tied for sixth in greens in regulation. • While known for his ball-striking, Scott also excelled on and around the greens -- finishing second in scrambling; tying for third in putting average and tying for first in putts per round. • Although he tied for fifth in par-4 scoring, Scott really won the event with his play on East Lake's par-3 and par-5 holes - finishing first in birdie or better percentage on both.
Scott misses greens, but still wins By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. Adam Scott hit 69.4 percent of his greens in regulation this week at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. This is the lowest average by a TOUR Championship winner since 1996, when Tom Lehman also hit 69.4 percent of his greens at Southern Hills. • Adam Scott becomes the sixth player to make THE TOUR Championship his first PGA TOUR win of the season. Scott joins Chad Campbell (2003), Mike Weir (2001), Paul Azinger (1992), Craig Stadler (1991) and Tom Watson (1987). East Lake's No. 5 proves why it is one of the toughest holes on TOUR By Mike Vitti The par-4 fifth hole at East Lake once again proved why it is one of the toughest holes on the PGA TOUR. Consider the following: • The scoring average of 4.519 was higher than the scoring average on 34 of the par 5 holes played on the PGA TOUR. • If the scoring average remains the same it will be the highest scoring average of any par 4 played on TOUR in 2006. • The GIR rate for the fifth hole in the first round was 7.41 percent - only 2 of the 27 players hit the green - and this was the lowest rate on a hole since the 2005 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. • The driving average rate was only 25.93 percent - only 7 of the 27 players hit the fairway. • Hitting his 213-yard approach to 2 feet, 7 inches, Jim Furyk was the only player to make a birdie on this hole in the first round.
Living in the rough By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. With the cold and windy conditions during the first round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola today, the field averaged hitting just 53.7 percent of fairways in-regulation. This is the second lowest average by the field during a round at THE TOUR Championship. Only round three of the 2005 TOUR Championship, where the field averaged 53.0, is lower. No eagles were recorded during today's opeing round of THE TOUR Championship -- the first time since the second round in 2002 that's happened. It's the sixth round on the PGA TOUR this season where no eagles have been recorded, joining the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (round four), the Buick Championship (round three), the FedEx St. Jude Classic (round three) and the Mercedes Championships (rounds one and two).
Who To Watch -- THE TOUR Championship
By Mike Vitti East Lake Golf Club is hosting the final event of the 2006 season - THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. One of the unique features of the course is that it finishes on a very difficult par 3. However, along with the finishing hole there are two others - the fifth and the fifteenth - that might play a deciding role in the tournament's outcome. No. 5 • At 520 yards, the fifth hole at East Lake was the longest par 4 on TOUR in 2005. • With an average approach of 215.5 yards, the fifth hole presented the third longest approach shot on TOUR in 2005. • In 116 attempts last year only 52 shots found the green on this hole (44.8%). What made it worse was that only 27 of the 64 scrambling attempts were successful (42.2%) No. 15 • At 495 yards the 15th hole was the fourth shortest par 5 on TOUR in 2005. • It had the third highest eagle percentage (10.34%) of all holes on TOUR. • Of the 116 attempts on this hole, 102 were successful in hitting the green in regulation (87.9%) No. 18 • At 235 yards the 18th hole was one of the ten longest par 3 holes on TOUR in 2005 • One of the toughest finishing holes to make a birdie on in 2005: • Nissan Open - Riviera Country Club- 16 birdies in 286 attempts (5.59%) • World Golf Championships-American Express Championship - Harding Park - 16 birdies in 280 attempts (5.71%) • THE TOUR Championship - East Lake Golf Club - 7 birdies in 116 attempts (6.03%) • Although only 59.48 percent of the attempts found the green in regulation, the scrambling success rate of 65.96 percent made the 18th the third easiest on the course to scramble and save par. • Players might be better off missing the green as the putting average on the 18th of 2.014 was the highest of all of the holes at East Lake and the 14th highest average of all holes on TOUR. • There were as many birdies (7) on this hole as three putts (7). Who to Watch All of the players in this week's field have obviously had excellent seasons, and any one of them could be victorious this week. However, looking at the top-5 finishers at East Lake in 2002, 2004, and 2005, I have identified four key statistics among the players who did well at this event. Fairway proximity, scrambling, birdie or better conversion percentage and par-4 scoring average make up the stats to watch, as they were among the most common stats among the leaders at this event. Applying the four identified statistics to the 2006 averages of the 27 players competing in this event resulted in a pretty strong group of five players. The five players identified include Stewart Cink, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, and David Toms - not really a surprise among the quintet, as any one of these world-class players could easily claim a victory in Atlanta.
Keys to Victory: K.J. Choi -- Chrysler Championship
By Mike Vitti With four rounds under par, K.J. Choi finished four shots clear of the field at the Chrysler Championship and moved from 68th to 26th on the money list, earning a spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship. • For the week Choi displayed both power and accuracy from the tee, tying for 16th in driving accuracy; third in average driving distance on all drives; and tying for ninth in percentage of drives exceeding 300 yards. • For the season Choi has hit 15.89 percent of his drives into the right rough, but in Tampa only 5.77 percent of his tee shots found trouble on the right side. • Choi took advantage of his distance and accuracy off the tee, hitting 86.11 percent of the greens in regulation on his approaches from the fairway and making birdie or better on 31.03 percent of his approaches from the short grass. • Overall Choi finished tied for fifth in greens in regulation and second in proximity to the hole. • Choi successfully converted all three of his sand save opportunities and was five for five on scrambling attempts from the fringe. • Converting a third of his birdie opportunities, Choi was tied for sixth in putting average and was 10th in average distance of putts made per round. • Making birdie on a quarter of the par 3s he played, Choi was tied for third in the field in par 3 birdie percentage -- always a positive on a course with five par 3 holes. • Ranked 29th for the season in par 3 birdie percentage, Choi's performance on the par 3s was not unexpected, but he also scored well this week on the par 4s and par 5s, finishing in the top 10 in birdie percentage in both areas.
Flesch surprisingly misses cut By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.
South Africans making rare October appearance
• Ernie Els is playing this week at the Chrysler Championship – the South African's first October start on the PGA TOUR since playing in the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship in 2003. Countryman Retief Goosen is also in this week's field -- another rarity. Of the golfers formerly known as the Big Five (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Els and Goosen), the two South Africans have the fewest October starts on TOUR since the dawn of the Tiger Era. •
NUMBER OF TOURNAMENTS PLAYED IN OCTOBER SINCE 1996
- includes this week's event • Brian Bateman shot a 2-over 73 today despite hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation. Bateman's was the 192nd round on TOUR this year in which a player hit at least that many greens in regulation – but only the fifth such round over par. He joins Chad Campbell (third round, British Open), Nicholas Thompson (second round, Buick Open), Jimmy Walker (first round, BellSouth Classic), and Spike McRoy (first round, Valero Texas Open). Who To Watch -- 2006 Chrysler Championship
By Mike Vitti The par-71 Westin Innisbrook Resort-Copperhead Course plays host this week to the Chrysler Championship and, seeing as the course ranked as the 11th hardest to score on in 2005, there probably will not be a repeat of last week's birdie-fest. What there should be, though, is a tightly contested event with a very strong field. When examining the data from the last three years, the stat that jumped to the top for past success at this event was scoring average before the cut. All three winners of this event entered the weekend in at least a tie for third and within three shots of the leader. This makes sense, as Copperhead is a tough course to score on, so playing from behind will be difficult. Ranked sixth on TOUR entering this week, Adam Scott has the lowest pre-cut scoring average at 69.78. However, this is not the only key to success at this week's venue. The factors and leading players in the field to watch for this week include: • Scoring Average - Before the Cut (Adam Scott, 69.78, 6th) Now while each of these players excels in one of the key areas and could find success this week in Tampa, the five players with the best overall combination of these particular statistics include: past champion Vijay Singh; rookies Trevor Immelman and Charley Hoffman; John Senden, who would make the field in both the Masters and 2006 TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola with a win; and two-time TOUR winner Jonathan Byrd.
Keys to Victory: Carl Pettersson -- 2005 Chrysler Championship
By Mike Vitti In his first 26 events in 2005, Pettersson had a GIR rate of 70 percent or better in only four events, missed 14 cuts and his best finish was a tie for 15th. However, in his last eight events in 2005, he finished with a GIR rate of 70 percent or higher six times, did not miss a cut, and recorded five top-20 finishes -- including his win at the Chrysler Championship. • With a season driving accuracy average of 60.82 percent, Pettersson tied for 135th on TOUR, but at the Chrysler Championship he hit 71.15 percent of the fairways for the week. • Pettersson tied for third in greens in regulation, hitting 52 of 72 greens for a rate of 72.22 percent and finished seventh in proximity to the hole on approach with an average distance of 32 feet, 5 inches. • From the rough, Pettersson had an average proximity to the hole of 30 feet, 7 inches, which was almost 12 feet closer than his season average. • Pettersson was a perfect 4-for-4 in sand save percentage and led the field in scrambling, successfully converting on 85 percent of his opportunities for the week. • While Pettersson's work around the greens was impressive, it may be more attributable to his putting, as his average proximity to the hole on scrambling attempts was 7 feet, 6 inches. • Pettersson made 15 of 16 putting attempts from between 4 and 8 feet in length and was second in the field on putts inside of 10 feet. • Although his birdie or better conversion rate was ranked 50th in the field, Pettersson helped himself by not three-putting any greens. • Pettersson's front nine scoring average of 34.50 tied for the lowest average all week and was over two strokes lower than the field average. • Although he ranked tied for 49th and tied for 19th in par 4 and par 5 birdie or better percentage, respectively, Pettersson limited his mistakes and finished in the top 10 in scoring average in both categories.
Keys to Victory: Joe Durant -- 2006 FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort
By Mike Vitti Ranking first on TOUR in 2006 in driving accuracy and eighth in greens in regulation, it was just a matter of time before Joe Durant claimed a victory on TOUR in 2006. However, it was his excellent play on and around the greens in conjunction with his normally excellent ball striking skills that earned Durant his first victory on TOUR since 2001. • Finishing 18th in total driving, Durant ranked 36th in driving distance and was 17th in driving accuracy percentage. • The TOUR leader in driving accuracy, Durant hit 71.43 percent of the fairways - including 12 of 14 in the first round - and he ranked sixth in the field in left rough avoidance. • Tying for third in greens in regulation percentage at 80.56 percent, Durant hit 16 of 18 greens in both the first and third rounds. • On his three rounds on the Magnolia Course, Durant averaged 27 feet, 8 inches on approach, ranking fourth overall in proximity to the hole. • For the season Durant ranks 143rd in scrambling, but based on his scrambling proximity to the hole average of 2 feet, 11 inches, at FUNAI he finished 11th in the field converting 78.57 percent of his attempts. • Finishing first in putting average and tying for fourth in putts per round, Durant did not record a single three putt and one-putted 47.22 percent of the greens at Disney. • Durant was fifth in the field in birdie or better conversion percentage, making 44.83 percent of his attempts. • Finishing tied for first in par breaker percentage, Durant made birdie or better on 12 of the 16 par-5s he played during the week and also tied for third in par-3 birdie percentage.
Magnolia vs. Palm
By Mike Vitti The FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort is played on two courses on Thursday and Friday, the Magnolia Course and the Palm Course. Last year the Palm Course was the easiest course in terms of scoring average (67.80) of all 55 courses played on the PGA TOUR, while the Magnolia Course was the ninth easiest (69.87). This year the trend appears to be continuing, as 14 of the 17 players that were tied for eighth or better after round one played the Palm Golf Course, including leader Justin Rose, who fired an opening round 60. The question is: since both courses are set up to accommodate the pro-am event hosted during the first two rounds, is the Palm Course really an easier course than the Magnolia? The scoring averages for the Magnolia and the Palm in the first round were both higher than last year's averages at 70.29 and 69.94, respectively. Breaking down the round one scoring statistics further, the Palm had 54 percent of the field shooting 69 or better versus 42 percent of the players on the Magnolia course; there were only six players that did not break par on the Palm versus 16 on Magnolia; and only 12 players failed to break par on the Palm versus 22 on the Magnolia. The biggest difference in scoring between the two courses may actually come down to the par-5 holes. 99 times players on the Palm Course were lining up eagle putts, while over on the Magnolia there were only 34 eagle putts attempted in the first round. This difference was reflected in the scoring averages as the Palm had a par-5 scoring average of 4.43 versus 4.64 for the par-5s on the Magnolia. There are other analyses (such as 95 percent confidence intervals about the scoring mean) that really support the hypothesis that the Palm is an easier course than the Magnolia, but this may not be the best forum to go into that. Suffice it to say that the Palm is the easier of the two courses.
Oh So Close...
By Mike Vitti 59 is a magic number on the PGA TOUR with only Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991), and David Duval (1999) scoring a 59 in a regular season TOUR event. Justin Rose came close to joining this group in the first round of the FUNAI Classic at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort, but he missed an 18 foot putt for birdie on the final hole. A look back at some of the more recent 60s carded on TOUR shows that 12 players had a good shot at posting a 59. The table below shows the 12 players who posted the scores of 60 and includes event, course, round number; number bogeys recorded, and the relative to par score from the final hole. If Rose, Grant Waite, Mark Calcavecchia, and Arron Oberholser could have made birdie on the last hole the 59 would have been in the books. The other players needed an eagle - or in the case of Tommy Armour III and Davis Love III a double eagle - on the final hole in order to post a score of 59. David Frost and Armour each recorded a bogey during their rounds, otherwise they might now be part of the 59 club.
The eagles have landed
By Mike Vitti John Huston made three eagles in his first round of play at the FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. An awesome scoring display, but it was not the first time this year that this has occurred. In fact, it is the fifth time this year that a player has accomplished this feat on the PGA TOUR. What is a bit rarer is making four eagles in an event. Searching through the scoring records, I came across two players that have accomplished this -- Willie Wood in 1990 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Scott McCarron in 1995 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Stats to watch for at the FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort
By Mike Vitti This week the TOUR stops in Orlando where the players will tee it up over multiple courses to try to win the FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort. Multiple course events always present a challenge in identifying the key statistics, as ShotLink is only employed on the host course (this week that would be the Magnolia Course). However, both courses used in Disney are pretty open and receptive to scoring, which explains the winner usually coming it at around 23 strokes below par. • With another shootout expected this week, par breakers will be the most important factor in winning the event. Players that do not score early and often will not be around on the weekend. However, par breakers are not the only factor in winning this event. • Over the last three years, the majority of players finishing in the top 5 ranked high in many different areas. Some of the most frequent categories, along with the highest ranked players in each area entered in the field this week include:
1. Par Breakers (Daniel Chopra, 23.54%, 3rd) • Any one of these players could walk away with the title, but strength in one of these areas alone will probably not be enough to win the event. Obviously some of these areas are definitely more crucial than others (see par breakers above). With that being said, the player that looks to have the best combination of the previously mentioned skills coming into this week is Robert Allenby. Others to keep a watch for this week are defending champion Lucas Glover; Jonathan Byrd; Frank Lickliter II; and, of course, Vijay Singh.
Keys To Victory: Lucas Glover at the 2005 FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort
By Mike Vitti In an exciting finish, Lucas Glover holed a bunker shot from 35 feet for a birdie on the 72nd hole to win last year's FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort by one stroke. Glover was quite adept at holing-out from off the green in 2005 -- finishing the season with 12. • Glover won the event despite averaging about 16 yards less off the tee than his 2005 season average, which was probably due to the wet conditions in Orlando. • Overall, Glover hit 69.6 percent of the fairways, but on the three rounds he played on the Magnolia course his driving accuracy was almost 80 percent. • Glover finished tied for 10th in GIR at 76.4 percent, averaging about 14 greens in regulation per round. • Despite hitting only six fairways in the second round on the Palms Course, Glover had his best round for GIR, hitting 16 of 18 greens. • Glover averaged 24 feet, 8 inches on approaches from 175-200 yards, over 10 feet closer than his season average. • For the season, Glover had a GIR rate of 52.7 percent on non-fairway approaches, but at the FUNAI Classic he hit 64.7 percent of the greens in regulation from off the fairway. • Glover ranked 129th on TOUR in scrambling percentage, converting 56.3 percent of his opportunities, last year. At the FUNAI Classic at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort, though, he converted on 82.4 percent of his attempts. • On scrambling attempts from the fringe last year, Glover ranked 118th, converting 84.9 percent of his opportunities. In his victory, though, he was 6 for 6. • Averaging 1.636 putts per greens in regulation and 26.25 putts per round, Glover tied for 18th in putting average and did not record a single three-putt for the week. • Glover finished tied for second in both par-breaker percentage and birdie average at 36.1 percent and 6.50, respectively. • Making a birdie or better on over a third of the par 4s, Glover led the field with a par-4 scoring average of 3.65. • Glover tied for 63rd in par-5 scoring, the highest event ranking for a winner on TOUR in 2005, but he made it up on the par 3s where he averaged 2.75 and finished tied for ninth in par-3 scoring.
Keys To Victory: Troy Matteson at the 2006 Frys.com Open
By Mike Vitti Troy Matteson was the leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour in 2005 and was in the top 10 in greens in regulation, putting average, birdie or better conversion percentage, and scoring average. Last week in Las Vegas he put it all together on the PGA TOUR, firing four rounds in the 60s on the way to his first career victory. • Hitting almost half of his drives for the week at least 300 yards, Matteson averaged 294.6 yards off the tee and finished the week 28th in average driving distance on all drives. • Entering this week, Matteson had a GIR rate of 65.11 percent, but hitting the green on 13 of 14 attempts from 150-175 yards, as well as on 17 of 21 attempts from non-fairway lies, Matteson found the green in regulation on almost 82 percent of his approaches. • On the back nine on Sunday, Matteson hit five of seven fairways, seven of nine greens in regulation and put three approach shots inside of 10 feet. • Matteson's distance off the tee allowed him to go for the green on the par 5s on 84.62 percent of his attempts. Making birdie or better almost 77 percent of the time when he went for the green, he was almost 25 points higher than his season average and finished tied for 6th in par-5 birdie or better percentage. • With an average proximity to the hole from the sand of only 4 feet, 5 inches, Matteson successfully converted two of his three sand save opportunities. • One-putting 40.28 percent of the greens and avoiding three-putts, Matteson ranked sixth in the field in putting average. • Matteson made 12 of 15 putts attempted between 5 and 10 feet in length and made a total of seven putts measuring over 10 feet in length. • Making birdie or better on 37.50 percent of the holes, Matteson led the field in par breakers.
Browne goes long at the Frys.com Open By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. During the opening round of the 2006 Frys.com Open, Olin Browne had a measured drive average of 312.5 yards. Only one other time in Browne's PGA TOUR career has he recorded an average higher during a round in a TOUR event; during round four of the 2004 Reno-Tahoe Open, Browne averaged 320 yards per drive. • Arjun Atwal opened the 2006 Frys.com Open by hitting the green in regulation on the first 15 holes he played. It's only the second time in Atwal's PGA TOUR career that he has opened a round by finding the green in regulation on the first 15 holes. Earlier this year during round one at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Atwal found the putting surface on his first 16 holes. • Fred Funk eagled the par-4 14th hole at TPC The Canyons course at the Frys.com Open. It's the tenth time in his career that he's eagled a par-4 on TOUR, and second time this season. Earlier this year he eagled the 349-yard par-4 15th hole in the final round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Keys To Victory: Wes Short, Jr. at the 2005 Frys.com Open
By Mike Vitti Last year in Las Vegas, extra holes were required to declare a victor. Wes Short, Jr. claimed the victory in a sudden death playoff with Jim Furyk for his first-ever win on the PGA TOUR. • With an average driving distance of 306.3 yards, Short hit it long off the tee -- hitting 40 percent of his ShotLink measured drives over 300 yards. • Short was eighth in the field for left rough tendency, only finding the rough on the left on 7.1 percent of his drives at TPC Summerlin. • Short's playoff opponent, Jim Furyk, led the field in Greens in Regulation, but Short was able to keep pace by hitting an average of 14.5 greens per round for the week. • In the final round, Short hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation, including reaching the green successfully on his second shot on two of the par 5s. • On eight attempts from 50-125 yards on the TPC Summerlin, Short had an average proximity to the hole of 11 feet, 9 inches. • On approaches from the rough, Short's average of 31 feet, 4 inches was over 10 feet better than his year-to-date average. • For the week, Short was 11 for 14 in scrambling and ranked fifth in the field. • Averaging 1.690 putts per greens in regulation, Short was 14th in Putting Average, and at an average of 28.25 putts per round he tied for ninth in the field. • Short was only one of nine players that made the cut to avoid three-putting for the week. • Short's three-putt avoidance is probably what earned him the spot in the playoff, as his opponent Furyk had a very uncharacteristic four three-putt performance. • Finishing tied for 18th in Par Breaker Percentage and tied for 29th in Birdie Average, Short did not lead the field in birdies at the scoring fest in Las Vegas. However, by only carding three bogeys for the week, he was very effective in taking advantage of the below par scores that he did post and finished tied for first in par-5 scoring and tied for third in par-4 scoring.
Keys To Victory: Davis Love III at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro
By Mike Vitti Davis Love III recorded his first win on the PGA TOUR since 2003 and his 19th career victory at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. The win was Love's second in Greensboro and the fifth event in which he has earned more than one title. • Hitting 11 drives over 300 yards, Love finished the event ranked ninth in average driving distance on all drives. • Love did a good job of controlling his power off the tee, finding the fairway on 67.9 percent of his attempts - about nine percent higher than his season average. • Finishing tied for 10th in right rough tendency; perhaps Love's involvement in the redesign of the Forest Oaks Course gave him a slight edge in proper positioning off the tee. • Tying for 34th in greens in regulation, Love's accuracy on approach is a bit deceiving, as he was eighth in the field in proximity to the hole with nearly a third of his missed green approaches ending on the fringe and 19 of his approaches landing within 15 feet of the hole. • Love ranked 20th in the field in scrambling, but his successful conversion rate of 71.4 percent was about 15 points higher than his season average. • Love ranked in the top 5 in putting average, one-putt percentage, putts per round, and birdie or better percentage. • Holing an average of 87 feet of putts per round, Love made six of his 13 attempts between 10 and 15 feet, and holed both of his attempts between 20 and 25 feet. • Although he only ranked in the top 10 in scoring average on the par-3 holes, Love was tied for fifth in birdie or better percentage on the par-4s.
ShotLink notes: Leaders go low in Greensboro
Posting 64s in the first round, John Rollins and Nick Watney equaled their lowest rounds of the year, while Brent Geiberger's score was his lowest of the season. Brent Geiberger • Geiberger hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in the first round. His averages in those two categories entering this event were 66.2 percent and 63.5 percent, respectively. • Averaging 24 feet, 2 inches on approach, Geiberger was over 9 feet closer on approach than his season average. • Using only 27 putts in the first round, Geiberger was about two putts lower than his season average. Nick Watney • Watney averaged 21 feet, 6 inches on approach in the first round. • Needing only 25 putts to get around the course, Watney's putting average of 1.429 was the lowest of the round. • Watney converted 64.3 percent of his birdie opportunities and with two putts holed from over 30 feet in length he led the field in average distance of putts made at 188 feet, 4 inches. John Rollins • In his first round, Rollins hit 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation. Entering the event his 2006 averages in the two categories were 64.3 percent and 64.4 percent, respectively. • Averaging 19 feet in proximity to the hole on the front nine, Rollins had seven birdie attempts within 15 feet. • Like Geiberger, Rollins also only needed 27 putts to get around the course, but his putts made average of 128 feet, 10 inches was over 30 feet more than Geiberger. Rollins' total distance also exceeded his yearly average by over 50 feet. K.J. Choi's Keys To Victory at the 2005 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro
By Mike Vitti Using accuracy off the tee to set the tone for the rest of his game, K.J. Choi recorded his third victory on the PGA TOUR at last year's Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. • K.J. Choi led the field hitting 47 of 56 fairways, and then took advantage of his fairway lies, finishing sixth in the field in Proximity to the Hole with an average distance of 25 feet, 8 inches. • Hitting 76.4 percent of the greens in regulation, Choi tied for 17th in the field in GIR. On approaches from 150-175 yards, though, Choi was second in the field in GIR (88.9 percent) and sixth in proximity to the hole (18 feet, 2 inches). • Converting all of his sand save opportunities, Choi made back-to-back birdies from the sand on Nos. 12 and 13 in the final round. This was the ninth time in 2005 that a player recorded consecutive birdies from bunkers • Successfully converting 82.4 percent of his scrambling opportunities, Choi finished the event ranked fourth in scrambling. • Entering the event ranked 129th on the PGA TOUR in Putting Average, Choi finished the event ranked first with an average of 1.618. He also ranked in the Top-5 in 13 different ShotLink putting categories. • Tying for second in Putts per Round, Choi one-putted 50 percent of the greens and converted 45.5 percent of his birdie opportunities. • On the strength of sinking two putts measuring over 44 feet in length, Choi finished third in the field in average distance of putts made per round. • Finishing in the top-10 in birdie or better percentage on par 3s, par 4s and par 5s, Choi made birdie or better on 36 percent of the holes in Greensboro.
D.J. Trahan's Keys To Victory at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic
By Mike Vitti • With his average driving distance on all drives coming in just about a yard and a half under the average for the measured drives, Trahan appeared to play aggressively off the tee all week. • Hitting 33 of 42 fairways in the first three rounds, Trahan finished the event tied for sixth in driving accuracy. • Tying for 12th in greens in regulation, Trahan hit 27 of 36 greens in the first two rounds and averaged around 25 feet in proximity to the hole on approach. • On the weekend, his accuracy on approach dropped a bit (22 of 36 GIR), but finishing third in the field in scrambling saved Trahan strokes around the greens. • Trahan made it through the week without recording a single three-putt, finishing tied for 12th in putts per round. • Trahan was tied for ninth in going for the green percentage, and his approach on the par-5 holes worked well, as he was a total of 11-under par on them and ranked first in par-5 scoring average.
Tiger Woods' Keys To Victory at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship
By Mike Vitti In winning his 10th World Golf Championships stroke-play event in 15 career starts, Tiger Woods extended his PGA TOUR consecutive win streak to six events. Finishing in the top 10 in multiple ShotLink categories, Woods dominated the event in every aspect of the game. • Finishing first in total driving, Woods hit a minimum of 10 fairways per round and had an average driving distance of 305.1 yards. • For the event, Woods hit a remarkable 90.3 percent of the greens in regulation -- about 22 percent higher than the field average -- and for the week, Woods only hit five approach shots that did not find either the green or the fringe. • Starting in the second round, Woods hit 37 consecutive greens in regulation -- including a perfect 18 for 18 in the third round -- tying the longest streak on TOUR this year set by Phil Mickelson at the Bell South Classic. • Woods was first in proximity to the hole from the fairway and ranked second on approaches from the rough. Overall he averaged 24 feet on his approaches to the green and hit 25 of his approaches for the week within 15 feet of the pin. • Even when missing the green Woods was in top form, finishing sixth in the field in scrambling. • Since he did not finish in the top 20 in putting average or one-putt percentage, it may appear that Woods was not as dominant on the greens. However, in hitting 65 greens in regulation, Woods' putting stats are a bit skewed. • For the week, Woods was 12th in birdie or better conversion percentage and seventh in average distance of putts made per round. • Recording a birdie or better on 31.9 percent of the holes for the week, Woods led the field in scoring average on the par 4s and par 5s, and he was tied for seventh in scoring on the par 3s. • Woods scoring average on the par 4s was 3.82 -- barely better than his average of 3.92 on the par 5s. • Woods recorded eagle three consecutive times on the 18th hole and for the week he made birdie or better 83.3 percent of the time he played a par 5.
Woods eagles 18 for third straight day By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. •
Tiger Woods eagled the 18th hole Saturday to take a six-stroke lead
over Adam Scott going into the final round of the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. It is the third consecutive day that Woods eagled the final hole. It's also the fifth time since 2000 that a player has scored an eagle on the same hole in three consecutive rounds, including another by Woods. Year Golfer Tournament Hole Rounds 2006 Tiger Woods American Express Championship 18 1-2-3 2006 Robert Allenby Booz Allen Classic 6 2-3-4 2005 Hunter Haas Southern Farm Bureau Classic 5 2-3-4 2003 Robert Gamez B.C. Open 3 1-2-3 2000 Tiger Woods NEC Invitational 2 1-2-3 Woods goes under 65 again By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Tiger Woods shot 63 and 64, respectively, in each of the first two rounds of the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship at the par-71 Grove course. Woods is only the third player this season to shoot under 65 in each of the first two rounds of a tournament. The others were Corey Pavin (61-64 on par 70) at the U.S Bank in Milwaukee and Jose Coceres (64-64 on par 71) at the Booz Allen Classic. • Woods twice previously shot under 65 in each of the first two rounds of a tournament on TOUR. The last time also came at a World Golf Championships event -- the 2000 Bridgestone Invitational when he had rounds of 64 and 61 at Firestone's South Course to capture the second of his five titles in that event. Woods also shot 64-64 in each of the first two rounds of the 1997 EDS Byron Nelson Championship where he went on to win that event as well. • At the Southern Farm Bureau Classic on Friday, John Daly jumped 79 spots on the leaderboard by following his opening round 76 with a second round 65. The 11-stroke improvement from one round to the next is fairly rare for Daly. Consider that this is the eighth time in Daly's career that he improved by 10-or-more strokes from one round to the next. He has shot 10-or-more strokes higher from one round to the next a total of 21 times. Faxon looking to stay in top 125
By Mike Vitti At 9-under par, Brad Faxon is on the first page of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. Currently ranked 136th on the PGA TOUR money list, Faxon is looking for a strong finish this weekend to get into the top 125 on the money list, but not for the exemption. Faxon is already exempt after winning last year at the Buick Championship, but he a strong finish could extend his streak of 22 consecutive years of retaining his exempt status. Since 1980, Only Nick Price, Craig Stadler and Mark O'Meara have matched this pace. It is also impressive to note that Stadler and Jay Haas actually had streaks of 25 and 23 years, respectively, dating back to 1977.
Woods off to one of best starts ever
By Mike Vitti Leading the field at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, Tiger Woods currently sits at 15-under par, which matches his lowest opening 36-hole start recorded at the 2000 World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. Woods' aggregate score of 127 is also the second lowest opening 36-hole aggregate of his career.
Woods continues to dominate World Golf
Championships By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Tiger Woods holds the first-round lead at this year's World Golf Championships-Amercian Express Championship after firing an 8-under-par 63, with Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter a shot back. To say Woods has dominated this global series is an understatement. He has won 11 of the 22 individual World Golf Championships events since play started in 1999. Only one other player has even finished in the top 10 on 11 occasions -- David Toms, with exactly that number. Woods also has 19 top-10 finishes; only 10 other players have even played in 19 of these tournaments. Tiger's only non top-10 finishes are all at the Accenture Match Play Championship. He did not play in the tournament in 2001, and he finished tied for 33rd in 2002 and tied for 17th in 2005. That means Woods has finished in the top 10 of every Bridgestone Invitational he has played and every American Express Championship he has played. • Woods has earned almost $14.5 million in this series, more than three times the amount for the next player, Darren Clarke, who has just over $4 million. His total winnings in these three individual events ($14,402,500) nearly equal the total for the next seven golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking combined (Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els and Luke Donald) who have collectively won only $44,125 more than Woods. Heath Slocum's Keys to Victory at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic By Mike Vitti Using his typical accuracy from the tee and strong play on the par 3s, Heath Slocum earned his second career victory at the 2005 Southern Farm Bureau Classic. •Hitting 73.2 percent of the fairways for the week, Slocum took advantage of good positioning -- averaging 23 feet, 4 inches on his approaches from the fairways. •Slocum safely found the green in regulation on 72.2 percent of his approach shots, and he tied for first in going for the green - hit green percentage. •Slocum was able to successfully convert on 15 of his 20 scrambling attempts and recorded two hole-outs from off the green. •Tying for ninth in putts per round, Slocum avoided three-putting and needed only one-putt to complete 45.8 percent of the holes. •Converting 46.2 percent of his birdie or better attempts, Slocum was first in par breakers in playing 36.1 percent of the holes under par. •Although he played the par 4s well -- finishing tied for 16th in scoring average on those holes, Slocum won the event on the par 3s and par 5s, as he finished in the top-5 in birdie or better percentage and scoring average on both sets of holes.
Eric Axley's Keys to Victory at the 2006 Valero Texas Open By Mike Vitti Firing a pair of 63s in the second and third rounds, Eric Axley cruised to a three shot win and his first career PGA TOUR victory at the Valero Texas Open. •Ranking 28th in average driving distance, tying for eighth in driving accuracy, and tying for first in greens in regulation, Axley finished the week ranked third in the field in ball striking. •Finishing sixth in average driving distance on all drives, Axley hit 50 percent of his drives over 300 yards and still hit 75 percent of the fairways. •Entering the event Axley was hitting 15.7 percent of his drives into the left rough - tied for 172nd highest percentage on TOUR, but in Texas he only found the left rough on 7.1 percent of his drives. •Ranked 118th in greens in regulation heading into the event, Axley's 75 percent greens in regulation rate in Texas was about 11 percent higher than his season average. •In the second and third rounds combined, Axley hit 33 of 36 greens and had an average proximity to the hole of 19 ft., 6 in.. •Even though he did not need to scramble much, Axley was still effective around the greens converting 73.3 percent of his scrambling opportunities. •Finishing 15 under par for the week, Axley was fifth in birdie or better conversion percentage, third in putting average, ninth in putts per round, eighth in one putt percentage, and 11th in average distance of putts made. •Interestingly with all of his length and accuracy off the tee, Axley actually ranked better on scoring on par 3s (T-11th) than he did on par 5s (T-55th). •Axley was tied for first in par breaker percentage for the week, making birdie or better on 29.2 percent of the holes.
Axley terrific around the green • Eric Axley lead the field in greens in-regulation at the Valero Texas Open and he was third in putting on those greens. Axley becomes the first recorded rookie at the Valero Texas Open to rank in the top five in both greens in-regulation and putting on greens in-regulation. Axley is the second rookie this season to accomplish the feat. At the Nissan Open in February, rookie Trevor Immelman ranked second in greens in-regulation and first in putting. • Axley played the par-4 holes to a 3.75 average this week at the Valero Texas Open. This is a career best for Axley on the PGA TOUR, who's previous best was 3.83 at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson earlier this year. Moving day for Axley • Saturday was "moving day" at the Valero Texas Open for Eric Axley. The co-leader after two rounds shot 63 today. He becomes only the third player this season with at least a share of the lead entering the third round of a 72-hole event to shoot 7 under or better in the third round. Chad Campbell shot 8 under in the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii after entering the day tied for the lead; and Duffy Waldorf, who held the outright lead after two rounds of the Chrysler Classic of Tucson, shot 7 under in the third round. • Axley leads the field in greens-in-regulation at 83.3 percent. This is the second time this year that Axley has led the field in this category through three rounds of a PGA TOUR event. At the Chrysler Classic of Tucson, Axley found the greens-in-regulation 88.9 percent of the time. Americans Still Close Despite European Dominance By Mike Vitti • Europe leads 5-3 after the first day of team play, and the United States squad should look at this as a positive, since it could have been much worse. Only in three of the eight matches contested on the first day did the United States pairings hold the lead in their respective matches for more holes than the Europeans. Overall, through the first eight matches, Europe has held the lead for a total of 66 holes versus 23 for the United States and, if the Woods/Furyk Four-ball match victory is removed, the holes-with-the-lead advantage for the Europeans is an incredible 65 to 9. • Two different approaches were taken by the captains on the first day, resulting in 10 players (6 from the U.S. and 4 from Europe) seeing action in both sets of matches. European captain Ian Woosnam played all 12 of his players on the first day and never repeated the same team twice. United States captain Tom Lehman used only 10 of his 12 players, with Scott Verplank and Vaughn Taylor not seeing action on the first day. Lehman also kept two of his teams together -- Woods and Furyk, and Mickelson and DiMarco -- for both formats, resulting in a total of six different combinations of players. • With two points in two matches, Sergio Garcia is, so far at least, the man of the match, but he needs to figure out how to get his European Tour putting stroke through Customs so he can use it on the PGA TOUR. Garcia is currently tied for 157th in putting average and 175th in putts per round on the PGA TOUR, but on the European circuit he is tied for ninth and 37th in the respective categories. Tiger and Monty familiar foes By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. The 2006 Ryder Cup started Friday morning with Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington taking on Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk in the first of the morning's four Four-Ball matchups. It is the fourth time that Tiger has faced Monty in this format, with Montgomerie coming out on top in each of the three previous matchups: 1997 -- Colin Montgomerie & Bernhard Langer beat Tiger Woods & Mark O'Meara, 3 & 2 • The third pairing of the day for the Europeans put fellow countrymen Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal together for the first time. From 1987 to 1993 Olazabal was paired with another Spaniard, Seve Ballesteros, a Ryder Cup-record 15 times (11-2-2). • Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood made up the final morning pair for Europe. It is the seventh time they have played together in the Ryder Cup. The last pair of players to play that many times together was Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo, who played together seven times, most recently in 1995. • Justin Rose is becoming "Mr. Opening Round". The Englishman shot a 6-under 64 in Thursday's opening round of the Valero Texas Open. Since the beginning of September, Rose is a cumulative 20-under par in first rounds. That's the lowest combined first-round score in any calendar month in 2006. Phil Mickelson was 18 under in the first rounds of the three TOUR events he played in March. Friday's Four-Ball predictions By Mike Vitti Tiger Woods-Jim Furyk vs. Padraig Harrington-Colin Montgomerie United States Woods and Furyk had a lot of success as a team at last year’s President’s Cup going 2-0-1as a team. Now ranked one and three in the Official World Golf Rankings, the two are arguably the hottest golfers in the world over the last few months. Both players rank in the top 10 in greens in regulation and proximity to the hole, but they use different techniques off the tee to set up their approaches with Woods ranking fifth in driving distance, while Furyk is sixth in driving accuracy. One thing is for certain, expect a lot of scoring from this pair as they rank first and second in scoring average on the PGA TOUR, and they are both in the top 10 in par breakers. Europe Harrington and Montgomerie are Ryder Cup veterans that will tough to beat every time they tee it up. Harrington’s record in fourball is 2-2-0, while Montgomerie brings a 6-5-2 career mark in this format. Both players are tied for 12th on the European Tour in stroke average, so like their opponents in the first round they can score. Montgomerie is 10th on the European Tour in driving accuracy and Harrington is in the top 10 in scrambling and putting average. Harrington, who splits his playing time on both tours, ranks 28th in scoring average, 11th in total driving, and is tied for 27th in putting average on the PGA TOUR. Prediction – Weather may prevent a lot of scoring, but the U.S. wins 2 and 1. Stewart Cink-J.J. Henry vs. Paul Casey-Robert Karlsson United States Henry will be the first of the four United States rookies to tee it up at this year’s competition. Cink, 1-0-1 in fourball competition at the Ryder Cup, brings experience and the ninth best scoring average on TOUR to this match. Ranked 13th in scrambling and tied for 15th in one-putt percentage, Cink is solid on and around the greens. Henry’s strength is ball striking, where he ranks fourth on TOUR in GIR from the fairway and is tied for 21st overall in GIR percentage. Europe Karlsson, also a rookie, is being paired with Casey who is competing in his second Ryder Cup. Casey currently sits atop the European Tour Order of Merit and is coming off a very impressive victory at the World Match Play Championship. On the European Tour, Casey ranks sixth in both stroke average and greens in regulation, while his partner Karlsson is one of the big hitters, ranking 17th in driving distance. Karlsson is not only about power, as he ranks seventh in putting average and eight in sand saves on the European Tour. Prediction – Two Ryder cup rookies get their first exposure to the competition and both play well, but Casey is the difference. Europe wins 1 up. David Toms-Brett Wetterich vs. Sergio Garcia-Jose Maria Olazabal United States Paired with Toms, Wetterich will be the second rookie to start for the United States. I liked this pairing for foursomes, but think they will also do well in fourball. Wetterich is one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR and his 63 percent driving accuracy rate is pretty good for a power player. Toms is 19th in putting average and ranks second in bounce back percentage. This team has a lot of scoring potential as both players rank in the top-4 on the PGA TOUR in par breaker percentage and Toms is twelfth in scoring average. Europe With respective fourball records of 7-2-3 and 3-1-2, Olazabal and Garcia excel in the Ryder Cup and are going to be tough to beat. Both play on the PGA TOUR, so they will be familiar with their opponents. Olazabal ranks 19th in scoring on the PGA TOUR and is in the top 15 in both par-3 and par-5 scoring. Tied for 36th in greens in regulation and eighth in going for it percentage, Garcia is an aggressive ball striker who is often criticized for his putting. However while he ranks 157th on the PGA TOUR with a 1.804 putts per GIR average, something changes in Europe as he ranks ninth on the European Tour with an average of 1.737. Prediction – A lot of lead changes and aggressive play, but in the end the teams end up all square. Halved. Phil Mickelson-Chris DiMarco vs. Darren Clarke-Lee Westwood United States With a 3-0-1 record as a team at the 2005 Presidents Cup, it was an easy decision for Lehman to put these two players together. Mickelson is a birdie machine who makes birdie or better on a quarter of the holes he plays. Tied for 15th in proximity to the hole, DiMarco is an accurate player who has gained a reputation as a tough match play competitor. DiMarco is not playing as well on the greens this season as he has in past years (tied for 65th in putting average), but Mickelson is having a solid year on the greens ranking third in putting average, first in birdie or better conversion percentage, and tied for 15th in three-putt avoidance. Europe Captain Ian Woosnam’s two captain’s picks are paired together in this final grouping. Both players have four career wins in this format and have been successful as a team in the past – defeating Tiger Woods and David Duval in 1999. Clarke will be a fan favorite all week and should be bolstered by the partisan crowd. However, it is his play on the greens in Europe his opponents should be worrying about, as Clarke ranks third on the European Tour in putting average. Westwood can score as he ranks 30th in stroke average on the European Tour, and he has claimed two Smurfit European Open titles at the K-Club. Prediction – Look for DiMarco to find his stroke on the greens and sink some key putts. U.S. wins 3 and 2. Robert Gamez's Keys to Victory at the 2005 Valero Texas Open By Mike Vitti Finishing second in total driving, Gamez ranked in the top-10 in both driving distance and driving accuracy. On the holes used to calculate driving average he averaged over 36 yards longer in Texas than he did for the year and his 73.2 percent driving accuracy rate was about six percent higher than his 2005 average. • Gamez took advantage of the additional length and accuracy from the tee. Ninth in 2005 in proximity from the fairway, Gamez finished the event tied for sixth in greens in regulation and averaged over 25 feet closer to the pin on approaches from fairway than he did from the rough. • Although Gamez was third in the field in scrambling, converting 82.4 percent of his scrambling attempts, his average distance to the pin of 10 feet, 6 inches on scrambling attempts -- 72nd in the field -- reveals that his scrambling success was more attributable to his work on the greens. • Tying for fifth in one-putt percentage (44.4 percent), Gamez averaged 27.25 putts per round and 1.673 putts per GIR, good for third and fifth in each category, respectively. • Ranked 10th in average distance of putts made per round (90 feet, 2 inches), Gamez made two birdie putts measuring over 30 feet in length in the first round. • For the week Gamez made 18 of 20 putts from 4 - 8 feet (90.0 percent, eighth) • Converting 38.2 percent of his birdie attempts, Gamez averaged almost two birdies per round higher than his season average and was the only player to record a birdie on the two par-5 holes, Nos. 1 and 14, in all four rounds. • Gamez did not record his first bogey until the 15th hole of the second round (32 holes) and did not card a bogey in the final round.
Ben Curtis' Keys to Victory at the 2006 84 LUMBER Classic By Mike Vitti Ben Curtis' victory at the 84 LUMBER Classic was his second victory of 2006 and the third of his career. Curtis has played solid all season, making 16 cuts in 22 starts, and his second victory has moved him to 22nd on the money list with a good possibility to make it into the field at The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. • Finishing tied for 10th in the field in driving accuracy, Curtis only missed nine fairways total for the week. • With his accuracy off the tee, Curtis was able to find the green or the fringe on 40 of his 47 approaches from the fairway. • Curtis' accuracy also allowed for him to be more aggressive on the par 5s as his going for it percentage at the 84 LUMBER Classic was almost twice his 2006 average. • Curtis converted 80 percent of his scrambling attempts, including going 7-for-7 from the fringe and 2-for-3 from the rough. • Holing 13 putts over 10 feet in length, Curtis averaged led the field in average distance of putts made per round at 114 feet, 1 inch. • For the week, Curtis ranked 11th in putting average, fifth in putts per round, and was tied for sixth in birdie or better conversion percentage. • Curtis never needed more than 13 putts to complete the inward nine and averaged 11.25 total putts per round on that side. • Tying for third in par breaker percentage, Curtis finished in the top 20 in scoring average on par 3s, par 4s, and par 5 and averaged over two strokes better than the field on the back side. • Making three birdies on each of the par-5 fifth, the par-3 12th, and the par-5 16th holes were crucial to Curtis' victory as was an aggregate eight under par on these three holes for the week.
Rookie on top at 84 LUMBER By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Nicholas Thompson shot 64 Thursday at the 84 LUMBER Classic, becoming the first TOUR rookie this season to hold the outright lead after the first round of any TOUR event. The last TOUR rookie to hold an outright lead after day one of an event was Nick Watney at the 2005 Buick Open last July. Thompson becomes the first TOUR rookie to hold an outright in the seven year history of this event. Since 1980, a TOUR rookie has held an outright lead after the first round a total of 44 times. Eight of those players went on to win that event, most recently Retief Goosen at the 2001 U.S. Open. • Nicholas Thompson (first) and Greg Kraft (tied-2nd) are among the top two after day one of the 84 LUMBER Classic. Entering this event they were ranked 181st and 184th respectively on the money list. It's the first time this year that a pair of players ranked outside the top 180 were in the top-two on the leaderboard after the first round of a TOUR event. Michelle Wie's 2006 PGA TOUR performance By Mike Vitti Michelle Wie is teeing it up for the third time this season on the PGA TOUR at this week's 84 LUMBER Classic, and she is hoping that maybe this time she can make the cut. I have discussed Wie's stats in past postings as they relate to the PGA TOUR, and suggested that she should try to emulate the play of more accurate players (e.g. David Toms) if she hopes to make it to the weekend. Looking at the limited stats from her three rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2006 it still appears that this remains her best approach. It is not a valid comparison to evaluate how Wie's limited stats compare to TOUR averages. However, it is fair to compare them to the averages from the rounds in which she participated. For the analysis, I divided the data into two groups within each event. For the event in Hawaii, all of the players that teed it up in the first two rounds in Hawaii are included and for the John Deere Classic only the data from the first round was included. The second groups are subsets of the first two and are simply the players that made the cut at the two respective events. I figured this would give a fair indication of how Wie stacks up to the players in the field, and where she really needs to improve to get to the weekend. Once again the stats indicate that Wie does not have the length from the tee to compete successfully on TOUR using a power approach. At the Sony Open in Hawaii she was 115th in the field in driving distance over the first two rounds, while at the John Deere she was 148th out of 154 players posting a stat in the first round. Her best approach still remains finding the fairway from the tee. Further demonstrating that accuracy is her best course, Wie was able to hit over 85 percent of the greens in regulation on her approaches from the fairway at the Sony Open in Hawaii -- a better rate than the players that made it to the weekend. I realize that in her last outing she only hit 28.6 percent of the greens on her approaches from the fairway, but I still think it is still a better approach for her to stay in the fairways. Another point that suggests that Wie's current approach is not working is that in both events she has made bogey or worse on at least a third of the holes she has played -- about two to three times the rate of the players that make the cut. Other than improving her accuracy off the tee which would help reduce this figure, Wie should really focus on improving her short game. Her combined scrambling rate of 44.4 percent in the three rounds would rank 191st on TOUR, and in the two events she has played this year she would have ranked over 100th in each of the fields. What does this mean for her chances to make the cut this week? Well barring an instantaneous change in her game, I do not see her making the cut in her third attempt at the 84 LUMBER Classic.
Jason Gore's Keys To Victory at the 2005 84 LUMBER Classic By Mike Vitti In 2005, Gore was leading the Nationwide Tour in ball striking when he made the move to the PGA TOUR and after taking a few events getting adjusted to the performance promotion, Gore won the 84 LUMBER Classic. • With an average drive of 322.3 yards, Gore was fourth in the field in average driving distance on measured drives, but at 320.3 yards his average distance off the tee on all fourteen driving holes ranked second in the field. • Gore's average distance off the tee on 12 of the 14 driving holes exceeded 310 yards, and his 396 yard drive on the fifth hole in the second round was tied with Brett Wetterich for the longest drive of the tournament. • At 73.6 percent, Gore was second in greens in regulation at the 84 LUMBER Classic and started off the week hitting 16 of 18 greens in regulation. He then finished his week by hitting the first 11 greens in regulation in the final round. • There were seven holes on the course where Gore hit the green in regulation in each of the four rounds (Nos. 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, and 16). • Not only was Gore hitting the greens, he was hitting it close, finishing seventh in proximity to the hole with an average distance of 28 feet, 9 inches. • Gore tied for eighth in going for the green attempts (46.4 percent) and ranked third in going for the green hit green percentage -- hitting the green on 38.5 percent of his attempts. However, his decision making on how to play the par-5s was even more impressive, as he was a total of 14-under on the 16 par-5 holes for the week. • Even when he missed the green Gore was able to recover well, finishing 14th in scrambling with a success rate of 68.4 percent. • Gore's accuracy meant that he was putting more than most of the field last year, but he still posted solid numbers on the greens. For the week Gore tied for 27th in putting average (1.717); made 38.5 percent of his attempts from 10 to 15 feet; and converted 36.5 percent of his birdie attempts (T-23rd).
Greens in Regulation = Pockets Full of Green By Scott Armstrong One might be surprised when they see Tiger Woods is ranked 132nd on the PGA TOUR in putts per round with an average of 29.33. How in the world has he won seven times this season with that stat so high? Here's howTiger leads the PGA TOUR in Greens in Regulation. By default he will have a higher average of putts per round because he is hitting more greens than anyone. He doesn't just lead this stat, he dominates it. If fact, his 72.8 percent average is two percent higher then the two players tied for second (John Senden and Jeff Gove at 70.8 percent). If he maintains that margin, this will be the third season he has led Greens in Regulation by two percent or more. Below is a chart of the largest margins between first and second place in Greens in Regulation since 1980.
Jim Furyk's Keys To Victory at the 2006 Canadian Open By Mike Vitti Jim Furyk's victory at the Canadian Open was his second victory of the season and his sixth top-5 finish in his last seven starts on the PGA TOUR. The win in Canada also moved him into second place on the Official World Golf Rankings. Furyk has one of the best all-around games on TOUR, so even with his iron play not being to his usually high standards this week, his accuracy from the tee and short game carried him to victory. • Finding the fairway 78.6 percent of the time from the tee, Furyk ranked fourth in the event in driving accuracy and was in the top 10 in both right and left rough avoidance. • Ranking in the top 10 in both greens in regulation and proximity to the hole, Furyk is normally among the leaders in the field in these two categories, but in Canada he finished right around the field averages in each of the two categories. • However, Furyk's accuracy numbers may have been more strategic than they appear as did not once find himself in a greenside bunker and over a third of his missed greens still ended up on the fringe. • Ranked fourth on TOUR in scrambling overall as well as fourth in scrambling from the rough, Furyk probably was not too concerned when he missed the greens. In Canada, Furyk went seven for nine in his rough scrambling chances and converted almost 71 percent of his overall attempts. • Furyk finished the event ranked in the top 10 in eight different putting categories, including finishing first in both putting average and putts per round. This marked the ninth time this season that a player finished an event ranked first in both putting average and putts per round, but only Furyk, Aaron Baddeley (Verizon), and Aaron Oberholser (AT&T) won the event where they performed this feat. • For the week, Furyk avoided three putting any greens, one-putted a total of 33 times, and only required 11 putts twice on the back nine. • Furyk entered the week tied for 36th in par-5 birdie or better percentage, but at the Canadian Open he recorded birdies on 87.5 percent of the par-5 holes and was tied for fourth in par-5 scoring average.
Scrambling saves the day for Furyk By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Jim Furyk won the Canadian Open by one stroke thanks in large part to a clutch up-and-down for par on the 72nd hole. Furyk, who ranks fifth on TOUR in scrambling, scrambled successfully 70.8 percent of the time in 24 greens missed in-regulation for the week. Furyk didn't miss that many greens in-regulation in any of his previous 11 wins on TOUR. • Jim Furyk did not find one bunker this week at the Canadian Open. It's only the third time recorded in a 72-hole non-major PGA TOUR event that Furyk did not find a bunker. He previously avoided the bunkers at the 2000 Canon Greater Hartford Open (finished fourth) and the 1994 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (finished tied for 29th). Drought likely to continue for Canadians at national Open By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. •
The hopes of a nation are falling once again. There hasn't been a
Canadian winner of the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Since that time, here is a breakdown of Canadian Open titles, by nationality: • Justin Rose is looking for his first TOUR victory. If he pulls it out this week he would be the first Englishman to win the Canadian Open since Peter Oosterhuis in 1981. Incidentally, that was Oostie's first TOUR victory. Over the past forty years, four players have earned their first victory on TOUR north of the 49th parallel: Don Massengale (1966), Peter Oosterhuis (1981), Dudley Hart (1996), and John Rollins (2002). Rookies faring well at Canadian Open By Mike Vitti Through the first two rounds at the Canadian Open there is a four-way tie at the top with 11 additional players within two shots of the lead. However, there is a sub-plot among the leaders this week, as three of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year are among these 15 players. Camilo Villegas (-7), Nathan Green (-6), and Trevor Immelman (-6) are all at the top of the leaderboard and a win by one of these players this late in the season could give them an edge in the rookie race. The three rookies have all brought their best games to the Canadian Open as all six rounds posted by these three rookies have been in the 60s -- with Villegas and Green each posting rounds of 64. Immelman, who may be leading the rookie race as he is the only one of the three with a victory and is in the top-10 in both scoring average and in official earnings, has shown excellent play from the tee, hitting 75 percent of the fairways and ranking fourth in the field in total driving. Green and Villegas have both performed on the greens where each is ranked in the top-10 in the field in putting average. Villegas in particular has really excelled, one-putting 50 percent of the greens through the first two rounds and holing at least 150 feet of putts in each of the first two rounds. In fact, Villegas' average putts made distance of 163 feet, 2 inches leads the field heading into the weekend. Perhaps the most interesting stat of the any of the three rookies is that Green, who had the fourth shortest average total driving distance and the fourth lowest driving accuracy of any of the players making the cut, has already recorded two eagles on the par-5s and currently leads the event in par-5 scoring average with an average of 3.75.
Golf's triple crown is no easy feat By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Geoff Ogilvy is not among the field at this week's Canadian Open. Perhaps he would have been more inclined to play had he won the British Open this season. Had he done so he would have been in the hunt to complete the rarest of all sports triple crowns -- golf's triple crown -- which consists of winning the U.S. Open, the British and Canadian Opens in the same calendar year. Only two men have ever accomplished the feat: Lee Trevino in 1971 and Tiger Woods in 2000. There have been nine unique triple crown winners in Major League Baseball (leading a league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in); there have been 11 triple crown winners in horse racing (winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes) • Jim Furyk dunked his second shot for an eagle on the par-4 12th hole in the opening round of the Canadian Open. It's the 15th par-4 eagle in Furyk's career, which began in 1994. Over that time frame only Phil Mickelson has as many par-4 eagles (15). Andrew Magee and Tommy Armour III have 14 each since 1994. Keys to Victory - Tiger Woods' 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship By Mike Vitti The Deutsche Bank Championship marked Woods' fifth consecutive victory on the PGA TOUR and he had to post a final round 63 to overtake Vijay Singh in the final round to claim it. Woods may have saved his best round for last, but he was at the top of his game all week. Over the course of the event held at the TPC Boston, Woods hit 12 consecutive greens in regulation, recorded birdie or better on five consecutive par-5 holes and successfully converted all three of his sand save attempts. In addition, Woods ranked in the top 10 in both front- and back-nine scoring, and his 30 on the front nine on Sunday was the lowest outward nine posted by any player in the event. Drilling down on the particulars of Woods' performance, ShotLink shows that all areas of Woods game were working in Boston. Woods ranked in the top 10 in driving distance and 25 percent of his drives traveled at least 300 yards. Woods took advantage of his powerful tee shots, ranking in the top 10 in 10 different approach categories, including proximity to the hole, greens in regulation and going for the green. On and around the green Woods was nothing short of spectacular. For the week he ranked first in scrambling and sand save percentage with respective success rates of 81 and 100 percent. Woods went the entire week without recording a single three-putt, finishing fifth in putting average and ninth in putts per round. Additionally, his 15 putts holed from over 10 feet were the most of any player in the tournament and led to a ranking of 10th in average distance of putts made and fourth in birdie-or-better-conversion percentage.
Woods adept at staying bogey free By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • For the 15th time in his career, Tiger Woods has completed a PGA TOUR event with multiple bogey-free rounds. The Deutsche Bank Championship marks the first time this season that Tiger has accomplished this, though. The last time he played a TOUR event with at least two bogey-free rounds was the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral. Woods won that event by one stroke over Phil Mickelson. • One has to feel bad for Vijay Singh. He had a thee-stroke lead entering the final round, shot 68 and lost. Since 1980 only two other golfers have taken a lead of three or more strokes into the final round, shot 3 under or better and not come out on the winning end. Pete Jordan entered the final round of the 54-hole 1996 B.C. Open with a three-stroke lead, shot 5-under 66 and lost in a playoff to Fred Funk who shot an 8-under 63 in the final round. Mark Calcavecchia entered the final round of the 90-hole 1997 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with a three-stroke lead, shot 5-under 67 and lost to John Cook who shot a 9-under 63 in the final round. Singh cards 10 holes under par By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • Vijay Singh shot to the top of the leaderboard at the Deutsche Bank Championship by posting a 10-under-par 61 in the third round. For Vijay, the 61 is a PGA TOUR career best. His previous best was 62; shot during the fourth round of the 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open. In shooting the 61, Singh carded 10 holes under par. Twice before on the PGA TOUR has Vijay carded 10 holes under par in a round; that was in round three of the 2005 Buick Open (finished 1st) and round two of the 2004 Mercedes Championships (finished 2nd). • Tiger Woods remains within striking distance of Vijay Singh heading into the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship thanks to his play on his first nine holes of golf today. Woods recorded three birdies on the front-nine while hitting 100 percent of the fairways-in-regulation and 100 percent of the greens-in-regulation. For Tiger, it's the first time he's started a round on the PGA TOUR in this fashion in almost two years; at the season opening Mercedes Championships in 2005, Tiger hit 100 percent of the fairways and greens in-regulation on his first nine holes en route to shooting 4 under-par 69. It's the fourth time since the start of the 2002 season that Woods has started a round on the PGA TOUR reaching these numbers over the first nine holes; a span that covers 329 rounds. Tiger Woods since the Western Open By Mike Vitti Tiger Woods again finds himself in the lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. This should not be a surprise to anyone based on the level of performance over his last five events. But the question that needs to be answered is which areas of Woods' game are really driving his amazing run. Starting with his season rankings at the end of the U.S. Open, the last event he failed to finish first or second, I looked at Woods' year-to-date ShotLink statistics and rankings and identified the key areas where Woods game has improved over the course of his last five events. Off the tee Woods has remained pretty consistent throughout the season in the power area averaging at least 301 yards in average driving distance, but his season average in driving accuracy has improved by about 5 percent since missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Collectively in Woods' starts through the U.S. Open he was finding the fairway at a rate of about 54 percent, but over the course of his last five events he has hit about 66 percent of the fairways. Woods' accuracy off the tee has translated into accuracy on approach. Before the Western Open started Woods was ranked fourth on TOUR in greens in regulation hitting 69.4 percent of the greens - not too bad. However, starting at Cog Hill Woods has hit 77.2 percent of the greens in regulation and increased his year-to-date average over 3 percent. Now, while the accuracy stats are pretty impressive all by themselves, I think that Woods most notable area of improvement has actually been on and around the greens. Before his latest five starts, Woods was ranked 122nd in scrambling, 141st in putting average, and was 170th in putting on putts ranging from 15 to 20 feet. Over the course of the last five events he has improved his rankings in each of these key areas and now ranks 26th, 61st, and 14th respectively. In scrambling, Woods was converting 55.3 percent of his attempts through the U.S. Open, but since that time he has been converting his scrambling attempts at an amazing 69.5 percent. On the greens, Woods has averaged 1.719 putts per greens in regulation over his last five events and shot up 80 places in the putting average rankings. On putts ranging between 15 and 20 feet, Woods started the season 3 for 25, a rate of 12 percent, but over the last five events he has holed 11 of 31 attempts, a rate of 35.5 percent. One of the more interesting areas where Woods has elevated his game is on the shortest holes. Prior to the Western Open, Woods' scoring average on the par 3s was 3.18 and he was recording a birdie only about 9.4 percent of the time. Over his last five starts, Woods has made birdie or better 23.8 percent of the time and his scoring average is an impressive 2.85 on these holes.
Tiger continues first-round trend By Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. • For the third straight year at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods posted an opening round score of at least five-under-par. In 2004 and 2005, Woods shot a six-under-par 65 and today's 66 is good for the overall lead. This is the third time Tiger has opened the same tournament with a score of at least five-under-par in each of three-or-more straight years. The others were the Byron Nelson Championship (1997-99) and the Walt Disney World Classic (1997-00). • Thanks to a 6-for-6 scrambling effort, Jason Gore finds himself only two strokes off the pace after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. That 100 percent scrambling success rate (min. 6 greens missed) tied a single-round best for his PGA TOUR career. Earlier this season, Gore also went 6-for-6 in scrambling in the second round of the Chrysler Classic of Tucson en route to a top ten finish. • Tim Herron did not record a single one-putt during the opening round of the 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship. It's the first recorded time that Herron has played a round on the PGA TOUR without recording a single one-putt. Herron is just the second golfer on TOUR this year to play an entire round without a single one-putt. The other was Pat Perez in the second round of the Bay Hill Invitational. However, it should be noted that Perez holed out for eagle on the par-five 16th hole that day. |
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