Just took a few statistics from the Golf Channel with a quick comparison between Phil and Tiger:
Phil Tiger
Fwys hit: 58.60 Rank(162) 59.4(152)
GIR's: 68.3(18th) 73(1st)
Birdie Ave: 4.38(2nd) 4.68(1st)
Putts/Rd 28.91(57th) 29.48(152nd) astonishing
Ave Putts/GIR: 1.73(4th) 1.76(61st) astonishing again
If you want to beat Tiger, do what Jim Furyk is doing. Jim is only 164th in driving distance, but is 7th in GIR's.
It seems that these long hitters only need fwy woods to make sure they keep it in the fairway and increase their GIR's. Then it simply becomes a putting duel and it's interesting to look at Tiger's above putting stats that this is simply the way to win.
Tiger, by his own admission has had a very poor putting year. (Masters anyone?) However, Id say if you checked his putts per non-GIR they'd be real low.
When i hit more greens i putt more as well. Obviously im not the talent Tiger is(im close) but he leads the tour in greens in regulation and if you hit 73% of greens in regulation you will putt more than guys missing the green and getting up and down. Now he hasnt putted as well as he has liked but thats your answer. Its not as bad as it may seem because he has a 2% point lead over second place in greens in regulation. When you hit that many greens your bound to have more putts than the next guy. Thats my take.
Agree to previous posts, but what I'm trying to say is that Furyk is close to the top in most tournaments, but he has to hit driver because of his lower yardage with the driver. Sooooooo, these long hitters, such as Phil, need to put that driver away and just make sure they increase their GIR's to even come close to beating Tiger.
What they are doing now is simply not working. Tiger's playing smarter and I'm thinking that's simply his edge right now. Also, they really need to quit being intimidated by him and bear down.
When Phil hits a high % of fairways with his driver, he's very competitive. Maybe John Daly should do the same.
Anyway, that's kind of what these stats are saying to me. If Fred Funk could hit it 300 + yds, he'd be really, really tough, imho. lol.
Its all about getting the ball in the hole regardless of any stat. I like your ideas however. These guys have been doing this a long time and should know when to hit Driver and when to be conservative. Maybe the biggest stat is between the ears ultimately.
Ill add to this post that Jim Furyk is playing very well this year and could have more wins. Furyk is tied for #1 in top 10's this year on tour and Tiger isnt the other guy hes tied with.(VJ)..so Furyks formula is working nicely.
Tiger really struggled with the putter early in the season but has putted better lately. That said, you're probably right to some extent. However, Tiger seems to have proven lately that he can win when he's farther back in the fairway than everyone else, he can win when he hits it farther than everyone else, and he can win when he's hitting stinger drives that go about the same as everyone else. It's almost not a fair fight sometimes.
However, Tiger seems to have proven lately that he can win when he's farther back in the fairway than everyone else
It has been interesting to see Tiger hitting first on many occasions. It is also interesting how often his 6 iron from or 200 yds ends up inside the other guys 8 iron from 160...That would be mentally tough when he is hitting first and you can't knock it inside his ball w/ a short iron...I heard mention by the commentators talking about his win at the Open that Tigers average approach on the par 4's was just short of 200 yards out. Can anyone verify that??? I think it was on TGC that I heard this info.
Last edited by wazmankg : August 30th, 2006 at 03:04 PM.
Reason: fixed quote box
This is a stat that Tiger suffers on for his greens hit in better than regulation. If someone hits it close to par fives in two and chips close, they get a one putt. Tiger hits it on the green in two and two putts. His putts/GIR is therefore perhaps one or two higher per round than someone who hits it close, but not on. And Tiger does hit a lot of fives in two.
GIR and putts/GIR are however the important stats. If you look at 2000, Tiger was first in GIR and second in putts/GIR. That makes for an utterly unbeatable combination. This is how tournaments get won by 15 shots. His putting has been worse of late, but it's not that bad. He does after all get marked by a pretty high standard.
Says a lot about hitting your approach shot close to the pin, it's not enough to just high in GIR. If you hit stiff to the pin and have birdie putts... Hello Tiger.
You can read a lot into stats. And stats don't tell the entire story. Phil makes nearly as many birdies per round as Tiger, but he likely makes a substantially higher number of bogeys and doubles. I attribute this to Phil being overly aggressive in situations where he doesn't really need to be.
Furthermore, putting stats can and are skewed by where the guys are hitting their approaches. On the PGA TOUR the pin locations tend to be set in more difficult areas of the greens. Position is critical. Player A may average closer proximity than Player B, but take more putts by virtue of their degree of difficulty. It helps to play below the hole and in the fall-line.
August 29th, 2006, 04:20 AM
Linear Mode
Similar Threads
