2016 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2016 on either of the major tours in Hong Kong today, the statistics for the 2016 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 542 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2016 calendar year).

This year, I have listed the best golfers in various categories. In each case, only golfers who played at least fifteen tournaments across both tours in 2016 are included in the analysis.

Best Performers 

As measured by their average finish over the year across the two major tours, these are the top performers:

1. Jason Day (15.61)
2. Dustin Johnson (16.82)
3. Adam Scott (17.24)
4. Rory McIlroy (19.55)
5. Henrik Stenson (20.11)

An unsurprising list, with the possible exception of Scott, but even he won twice earlier in the year.

Most Consistent Performers 

As measured by the standard deviation (spread) of their finishes over the year across the two major tours, these are the most consistent among the top performers:

1. Adam Scott (17.24)
2. Rafa Cabrera Bello (19.49)
3. Charl Schwartzel (21.63)
4. Richard Bland (22.69)
5. Jason Day (22.94)

As you can see, Scott had an impressively low standard deviation, which means he finished consistently very high up the leaderboard all year. This can be seen in his results, where his worst results were a couple of  finishes in the 50s.

Most Wins

As a percentage of tournaments played, these are the golfers with the most wins across the two major tours this year:

    1. Alex Noren (4 in 22, 18.18%)
    2. Jason Day (3 in 20, 15%)
    3. Dustin Johnson (3 in 22, 13.64%)
    3. Rory McIlroy (3 in 22, 13.64%)
    5. Adam Scott (2 in 21, 9.52%)

No surprise that most of these golfers have featured in previous lists! However, the great end to the season for Noren sees him make his only appearance on this page in first place.

Most Top Tens

As a percentage of tournaments played, these are the golfers with the most top tens across the two major tours this year:

    1. Dustin Johnson (14 in 22, 63.64%)
    1. Rory McIlroy (14 in 22, 63.64%)
    3. Henrik Stenson (12 in 21, 57.14%)
    3. Jason Day (10 in 20, 50%)
    5. Adam Scott (10 in 21, 47.62%)

Once again, no surprise that most of these golfers have featured in previous lists! Note Matt Kuchar had eleven top tens, but he played 28 tournaments which gives him a lower percentage. Also, several other golfers also had ten top tens, but from more tournaments.

Least missed cuts

As a percentage of tournaments played, these are the golfers with the least missed cuts across the two major tours this year:

    1. Adam Scott (0 in 21, 0%)
    2. Rafa Cabrera Bello (1 in 27, 3.7%)
    3. Charl Schwartzel (1 in 22, 4.55%)
    3. Dustin Johnson (1 in 22, 4.55%)
    5. Bubba Watson (1 in 21, 4.76%)

Another impressive 2016 stat for Scott, who is the only golfer who played more than six events to have made every cut this season.

Most Tournaments Played

These are the golfers who played the most events across the two major tours this year:

    1. Kyle Riefers (34)
    1. Renato Paratore (34)
    3. Danny Lee (33)
    3. Si-Woo Kim (33)
    3. Spenser Levin (33)
    3. Peter Malnati (33)

As you can see, US PGA Tour golfers feature very heavily in this list!

Lowest Stroke Average

These are the golfers with the lowest stroke average across the two major tours this year:

    1. Henrik Stenson (69.57)
    2. Dustin Johnson (69.66)
    3. Rory McIlroy (69.68)
    3. Adam Scott (69.70)
    5. Jason Day (69.71)

As you can see. all the golfers above have very similar stroke averages, especially those ranked second to fifth.

No surprise that most lists contains the same golfers, given the interrelated nature of the lists. See these and many more interesting 2016 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!