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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.
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