2017 - Week 48 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (European PGA Tour) and the Australian PGA Championship (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Of course, neither continent is Europe, but there are two events on two different continents on the European Tour this week. The first location is Mauritius, where despite the exotic setting in the Indian Ocean, only two golfers are inside the top one hundred in the world rankings. However, one of those is former major champion Louis Oosthuizen, who brings some star power this year. While this marks the third year that the Australian PGA has been on the European Tour (and hence on Golf Predictor), it has a long history, dating all the way back to 1905. However, only the tournament history for when it has been part of the European Tour (i.e. last two years) is available in Golf Predictor, so please factor that into your analysis.

There is no event on the US PGA Tour this week, except for Tiger's invitational junket (Hero World Challenge). As in previous years, Golf Predictor is not not covering that (very) restricted field event, even if it marks the latest over hyped return of the man himself!


Apologies - forgot to publish this the week of these events!

Tournament/Course Information Panel Replaced on Golf Predictor

Old Tournament/Course Panel on Prediction Page for the 2017 Shriners Hospital for Children Open

New Tournament and Course Information Cards for the Same Event

Further to my recent posts on information cards (e,g. this post), I am pleased to announce that the way tournament and course information on many pages on Golf Predictor has been updated. The original panel, shown in the first screenshot above, has been replaced with cards similar to those described in the linked post above. Some notes on these new cards:

1. You may have to reload a page to see them. This is because pages you have looked at are cached on your browser for performance reasons.
2. As can be seen above, the course par and length have been added to the new course card.
3. The course lengths used are the latest available, so the information may not be 100% accurate for previous seasons. 
4. Course pars can also change occasionally, e.g. Torrey Pines played to a par 71 for the 2008 US Open. The par used for the tournament is displayed in this new course information card.

I hope you will agree that these new cards are an improvement over the previous panel. Just another way to make Golf Predictor a little better!

2017 - Week 47 Winner

Wade Ormsby (ranked 15th by Golf Predictor) won the UBS Hong Kong Open on the European PGA Tour. The 37 year old Australian finally won his first tour title in an error filled finish in China. As the field bunched down the stretch, thanks mainly to round one-three leader Chawrasia going backwards with a treble on the ninth, Ormsby pipped his competitors by a single shot. Alexander Bjork pulled his short par putt on the last to finish one back, Ormsby closed with a three putt bogey and Cabrera Bello hit a nervy short bunker shot and missed the putt to force a play-off. An emotional Ormsby didn't mind as he put his injury problems and trips to qualifying school behind him. Our top ranked golfer, Justin Rose, finished tied 10th and we had ten of the top nineteen plus ties (10/22) in total. 

There was no event on the US PGA Tour this week.

2017 - Week 47 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the UBS Hong Kong Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the first week of the 2018 European Tour, even though it's still 2017 and of course, it's not in Europe! There are several big names and a strong contingent of tour regulars playing in Hong Kong this year. The in-form Justin Rose will be hoping to put the disappointment of his back nine mini collapse in Dubai last week behind him.

There is no event on the US PGA Tour this week.

2017 - Week 46 Winners

John Rahm (ranked 5th by Golf Predictor) won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on the European PGA Tour. The 23 year old Spanish Rookie of the Year capped a great début season with victory at the season ending event in Dubai. Rahm finished with a blemish free 67 to pip Kiradech Aphibarnrat and a fast finishing Shane Lowry to the lucrative title. Tommy Fleetwood secured the Race to Dubai title, despite stumbling home on Sunday. Luckily for him, nearest challenger Justin Rose, also faltered on the back nine after being imperious on the front nine. Rose was our top ranked player and still finished tied fourth in the end. Overall, we had fourteen of the top twenty one plus ties (14/23).

Austin Cook (ranked 59th by Golf Predictor) won The RSM Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 26 year old American rookie won his first PGA Tour title with an assured performance in Georgia. After hitting the front with a second round 62, Cook showed great maturity to hold off the field and win comfortably by four shots in the end. Our top ranked player, Matt Kuchar, finished in tied 29th and in an event that's usually hard to predict, we had only five of the top seventeen plus ties (5/21) overall. 

More Information Cards added to Golf Predictor

News cards and A-Z Picker on Courses page ('T' chosen)

Further to this post from a few weeks ago, I am pleased to announce that information cards have been added to more pages on Golf Predictor. Some of the stats shown in these new cards will obviate the need to sort the data table underneath them to an extent, while some of other stats are not shown on the data tables at all. As can be seen in the screenshot above showing courses beginning with "T", the stats on the cards are relevant to the page they are displayed on. Cards have been added to the following pages:

Predictions Menu

1. Prediction Rankings (Streaks)
2. Prediction Rankings (Odds)
3. Prediction Rankings (DFS)
4. Prediction Rankings (Strokes Gained)

Form Menu

1. Same Course
2. Same Tournament
3. GP Season
4. Last 5 Events
5. Similar Tournaments
6. Same Region
7. Early/Mid/Late/Overall Season
8. Round Scores
9. R1 Performance Analysis
10. R2 Performance Analysis
11. R3 Performance Analysis

Information Menu

1. Courses
2. Tournaments
3. Tournaments (Course)
4. Tournaments (Field Strength)
5. Golfers

Results Menu

1. Results by GP Season

Other Stats Menu

1. Winners (World Rankings)
2. Winners (Pred Rankings)
3. Tournament Stats
4. Tournament Stats (Rounds)
5. GP Season Stats
6. GP Season Stats (Rounds)

I've also updated the A-Z picker on the Course and Tournaments pages on the Information menu. The new look picker can be seen in the screenshot above. Some notes on the new information cards:

1. You may have to reload a page to see the new cards. This is because pages you have looked at are cached on your browser for performance reasons.
2. You may have to reload a page to see the latest stats on some cards as golfers/results etc. are added every week.
3. Like before, I tried to use appropriate images in the cards. Sometimes, that wasn't possible to do from the choices available in Font Awesome.
4. The round averages on the Results and Tournament Stats pages shows the values for rounds one to four. For old Bob Hope five round tournaments, the round five average is omitted.
5. I have added the percentage of the field that the most common nationality makes up on the existing nationality card on the Prediction Rankings page.
6. All the stats on these new cards are available to all users.
7. The winner stats cards counts a multiple winner separately each time he wins, e.g. in the count and nationality stats.
8. The course lengths used are the latest available, so the average/max/min lengths may not be 100% accurate for previous seasons on pages like the Tournaments page.

I hope you will find all these extra new cards useful. A lot of work has gone into providing them and a total of 28 pages have been updated on the site with these great new cards. Just another way to make Golf Predictor even better.

2017 - Week 46 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/statistics for this week, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (European PGA Tour) and The RSM Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the last event of the season (but not the year!) on the European PGA Tour and the last event of the year (but not the season!) on the US Tour! Although there is no Rory McIlroy or Henrik Stenson this year due to injury, there is still a strong field of tour regulars for the season finale. While seven of the top twenty in the world are teeing it up in Dubai, the field is more modest in Georgia. Matt Kuchar headlines the field and it will be the last chance before January for the lesser lights to put some FedEx Cup points on the board.

2017 - Week 45 Winners

Branden Grace (ranked 9th by Golf Predictor) won the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old South African delighted the home crowd by winning "Africa's Major" at Sun City. Despite trailing overnight by three shots, Grace played hit all eighteen greens in an impressive closing 66 (-6) on the tough Sun City layout to overtake Scott Jamieson and Victor Dubuisson. Our top ranked golfer, Tyrrell Hatton, bounced back from a poor finish on Saturday to finish in tied nineteenth place. Overall, we had seventeen of the top nineteen plus ties (17/26*) in total. 

Patton Kizzire (ranked 49th by Golf Predictor) won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba on the US PGA Tour. The 31 year old American held off favourite Rickie Fowler to win his maiden tour title in stormy Mexico. Despite having a three or four shot cushion for most of the final round, Fowler turned the screw on Kizzire with late birdies to cut the deficit to a single shot on the last. However, he wasn't able to repeat the trick on the last and a relieved Kizzire was able to par the last for the win. Fowler was our top ranked player and in an event plagued by weather delays, we had ten of the top fourteen plus ties (10/19).


* Uihlein's withdrawal promoted Sterne into the top 26 of the GP rankings.

2017 - Week 45 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Nedbank Golf Challenge (European PGA Tour) and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood will be hoping to rebuild his lead over nearest challenger Justin Rose in South Africa. He'll need the biggest cushion he can get, given how Rose has been playing recently! Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler makes his first appearance in the Mexican tournament this year, headlining the field with defending champion and recent winner Pat Perez.

2017 - Week 44 Winners

Justin Rose (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the Turkish Airlines Open on the European PGA Tour. The 37 year old Englishman won his second title in as many weeks with another impressive final day performance in Turkey. Rose came from two shots back on a packed leaderboard with a closing 65 (-6) to win by a single shot. Even with his good play, it took a great birdie on the last for him to pip Nicolas Colsaerts and Dylan Frittelli to the title. Rose was our top ranked player and we had eleven of the top twenty plus ties (11/22).

Patrick Cantlay (ranked 7th by Golf Predictor) won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the US PGA Tour. The 25 year old American put his injuries and personal problems behind him by fulfilling his early promise and winning on tour. The former amateur star outlasted Whee Kim and Alex Cejka in a two hole play-off in fading light and windy conditions to take the title. In the end, a par was enough for Cantlay, who got the best of his opponents on his third trip down the brutal eighteenth hole on Sunday. Our top ranked player, Tony Finau, finished tied 16th and we had only eleven of the top twenty plus ties (11/31), in an event where many of the lesser lights came to the fore in the difficult conditions.

Information Cards added to Golf Predictor

New cards on Prediction Page showing tournament information for the 2017 Shriners Hospital for Children Open

I am happy to announce the addition of information cards to the main Ranking page (Predictions Menu) on Golf Predictor. These colourful new cards show useful tournament information, some of which is already available on the Tournament page. The stats displayed on these cards are:

1. The Field Size and maximum Performance Likelihood in the field.
2. The Field Strength and average World Ranking in the field.
3. The number of nationalities in the field and the country with the most golfers.

These new cards are shown in the screenshot above for the 2017 Shriners Hospital for Children Open. This screenshot was taken before the tee-off groups were added, so some of the stats have since changed (see note six below). Some notes on these new cards:

1. The card colours were chosen to fit with the existing site colour scheme.
2. I tried to pick the most appropriate image for each card from the options available in the Font Awesome list!
3. Like in other locations on the site, only subscribers can see the Field Strength metric on the card. Non-subscribers will see a Subscribe link instead. All other card information is viewable by all users.
4. At any given time, some new golfers on the US Tour may have a nationality of "UNK", which is the default when it is not known. I fix these on a regular basis, but it may make the nationality breakdown for some US events slightly inaccurate for a short period. This problem does not affect golfers on the European Tour.
5. You may have to refresh the page files in your browser cache to see these cards properly in the first place. The easiest way to do this on Windows is to press Ctrl+F5 on the page. Alternatively, you can clear your browser cache, but this will also affect other sites.
6. You may also have to refresh the page after the tee-off groups are added (usually on Tuesday evening, GMT). This is because this process can alter the field statistics as players are added or removed from the field.  
7. Due to the proceeding three points, it is advised to reload this page after the addition of tee groups (usually on Tuesday) to ensure you are looking at the most up to date information.

I hope you will find these new cards useful. I will probably add similar ones to other pages in the future. Just another way to make Golf Predictor a little bit better.