Posted by Nathan Easler
Golf Stats: The Numbers That Matter
Every golfer and golf fan knows the sport is a game of numbers. One of the most distinct characteristics of golf is that any player's efforts are summarized by an absolute and final statistic: the score. However, as any visitor to the 19th hole knows, the story of the game cannot be told in full by the tally at the end of the round.
"Golf Stats: The Numbers That Matter" is your weekly source of insight into the numbers that make a difference in golf, focusing on the PGA Tour. Whether you're looking to wow your buddies in your Saturday foursome or get a little extra help for your fantasy team or are just a stats junkie, this blog is for you.
Every week, this sliver of the Internet will be your one-stop shop for the unique and significant golf stats that best tell the stories beyond the scores.
The 50th Bob Hope Classic was far from your ordinary event on the PGA Tour.
Pat Perez,
Steve Stricker,
John Merrick, and most notably the PGA record books are not the same after the marathon five-round tournament.
Had this been your ordinary 72-hole event, Stricker, a 41-year-old PGA Tour veteran from Edgerton, Wisc., would have been walking away with his 5th title and nearly a cool million. Fortunately for Perez, the extra 18 holes at the PGA West Palmer Private Course allowed him the opportunity to earn his first victory after 198 starts on the PGA Tour.
Fairways at a premium
Stricker flat out lost it on the tee on Sunday. He started out fine, hitting his first three fairways. Winds early in the day were between 5-15 mph, but as the afternoon wore on, they increased to 15-30 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph. This wind seemed to unnerve Stricker, as he hit only three of 10 fairways down the stretch (and six of 13 for the day).
Perez, on the other hand, was able to fight through the conditions and actually hit more fairways on average than he had in his previous rounds this week, which included his PGA Tour 36-hole scoring record of 61-63--124.
Paying dividends
Driving accuracy played a key role in determining the winner of the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
| Driving accuracy |
Thru 4 Rounds |
Round 5 |
| Pat Perez |
74.50% |
76.90% |
| Steve Stricker |
80.00% |
46.20% |
Winds of change?
Things were very different on Sunday at the Bob Hope Classic. After four days of ideal scoring conditions, the winds came out during the fifth round and added borderline insanity characteristic to an already crazy tournament.
Stricker doesn't need to be reminded; he shot 77 on Sunday after shooting 61 on the same course just two days earlier. Perez also shot his 61 at the Palmer Private track, but his final-round 69 was enough to edge Merrick by 3 shots.
Merrick, however, earned his career-best finish as the runner-up by carding a final-round 67. The 26-year-old LBC native played the par-5s very aggressively and led the field this week in par-5 birdie-or-better percentage at 81.82. He also tied Perez for most under par on the par-5s at 19-under.
Despite Perez's and Merrick's success, it proved to be a much different experience for the rest of the field on Sunday. On average, the course played 2.43 strokes tougher than earlier in the week.
Sunday silence
Low scores were harder to come by during Sunday's final round.
| Palmer Private |
Scoring Average |
|
| Wednesday |
67.47 |
| Thursday |
68.78 |
| Friday |
67.41 |
| Saturday |
68.03 |
| Sunday |
70.35 ** |
| ** The 2.43 average stroke difference on Sunday was compiled on the players that had been playing the best all week. The Hope doesn't cut the field until after round 4, when the pro-am finishes. This adds more weight to the differential given that the players who hadn't scored well and missed the cut but played earlier in the week weren't even on the course Sunday.
|
If you need further evidence of the how the wind affected play, examine the biggest movers Sunday.
Moving on up
A few of the largest swings on the leaderboard had something in common Sunday.
One of the reasons these players were able to increase their wealth on Sunday is they had room to move, but more importantly, being in the bottom half of the field meant a tee time on the 10th hole.
Why is this of note? These players were able to attack the only 9-hole side of the Bob Hope rotation of courses that featured three par-5s before the desert winds began to howl.
It's no coincidence they faired so much better; they had more scoring opportunities while the winds were down. As Merrick and Perez exemplified, scoring on the par-5s equals cash at the Bob Hope.
Rewriting the book
Perez and Stricker both made multiple changes to the PGA Tour history books over the weekend.
Going low
The 50th Bob Hope Classic saw some seriously red numbers.
| PGA Tour best consecutive rounds |
| Steve Stricker |
2009 Bob Hope Classic |
61-62 |
123 |
Rounds 3-4 |
| Pat Perez |
2009 Bob Hope Classic |
61-63 |
124 |
Rounds 1-2 |
| Mark Calcavecchia |
2001 Phoenix Open |
60-64 |
124 |
Rounds 2-3 |
| PGA Tour lowest 72-hole totals |
| Steve Stricker |
2009 Bob Hope Classic |
-33 |
|
|
| Ernie Els |
2003 Mercedes-Benz Championship |
-31 |
|
|
| Pat Perez |
2009 Bob Hope Classic |
-30 |
|
|
The recipe: par-5s and putting
What did the players in the top 10 do best this week? Most got off the tee well, scored on the par-5s, and putted impressively. As noted, Perez and Merrick led in the par-5 categories; this success was set up by some booming drives. Perez averaged 303.8 yards off the tee (good for 14th place) and Merrick averaged 308.8 yards (5th). Perez also led the field in putting average.
Pat Perez at a glance
Here's how Pat Perez fared this week in some of the major statistical categories:
| Category |
Rank (this week) |
Stat (this week) |
Leader (this week) |
Tour Avg. (this week) |
Leader (YTD) |
Tour Avg. (YTD) |
| Driving distance (in yards) |
14th |
303.8 |
Robert Garrigus -- 320.5 |
292.4 |
Garrigus -- 317.8 |
287.0 |
| Driving accuracy |
T-32 |
75% |
2 tied -- 86.76% |
73.56% |
Mark Calcavecchia -- 90.91% |
65.31% |
| GIR |
T-17 |
78.89% |
2 tied -- 85.56% |
74.53% |
2 tied -- 86.11% |
71.02% |
| Putting average |
1 |
1.521 |
-- |
1.662 |
Stephen Ames -- 1.577 |
1.727 |
| Eagles (holes per) |
T-6 |
45.0 |
5 tied -- 30.0 |
102.1 |
2 tied -- 30.0 |
121.9 |
| Birdie average |
T-2 |
7.00 |
Steve Stricker -- 7.20 |
5.21 |
Lucas Glover -- 7.0 |
4.35 |
| Scoring average* |
1 |
68.77 |
-- |
72.00 |
Charles Howell III -- 67.11 |
71.35 |
| Sand saves |
T-27 |
66.67% |
5 tied -- 100% |
55.43% |
5 tied -- 100% |
51.69% |
| Total driving |
9 |
46 |
John Senden -- 19 |
73 |
Glover -- 26 |
167 |
| Ball striking |
7 |
19 |
Senden -- 2 |
72 |
2 tied -- 12 |
166 |
| All-around ranking |
6 |
270 |
Brad Adamonis -- 205 |
490 |
Adamonis -- 202 |
648 |
| FedEx Cup points |
1 |
500 |
-- |
48 |
Zach Johnson -- 589 |
74 |
| Money leaders |
1 |
$918,000 |
-- |
$42,129 |
Zach Johnson- $1.16M |
$122,848 |
| • More PGA Tour statistics |
| * The weighted scoring average which takes the stroke average of the field into account. It is computed by adding a player's total strokes to an adjustment and dividing by the total rounds played. The adjustment is computed by determining the stroke average of the field for each round played. This average is subtracted from par to create an adjustment for each round. A player accumulates these adjustments for each round played. (120) -- From PGATour.com. |
Not to mention ...
•
Mike Weir quietly continues to play outstanding golf, finishing tied for third this week. At the end of the 2008 season, Weir finished in the top 10 in six of his last eight events.
• Tour rookie
Webb Simpson continues to tear up his debut season with his second top-10 finish in as many starts (T-5 at the Hope). His birdie on the 90th hole added $54,570 to his pocketbook; he is currently 12th on the money list.
•
Scott Piercy went the first 76 holes of the Bob Hope without a bogey.
• Across the four courses in La Quinta, Calif., there were 2,730 birdies and only 800 bogeys.
We are the Champions
• On the Champions Tour, Bernhard Langer started his second season off with a one-shot victory over Andy Bean.
• The 73-year-old
Gary Player shot better than his age in each round (70-71-71). This marks the sixth time in this event and 24th time in his career he has shot his age or better.
•
R.W. Eaks had the shot of the opening round, recording a double eagle by draining a 5-wood from 246 yards on the seventh hole.
Send comments, suggestions, and corrections to Nathan.J.Easler@espn.com.
