Golf Predictor to Wind Down

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the cessation of Golf Predictor as a public enterprise at the conclusion of the 2020 GP season (calendar year). In more than twelve years of assiduously producing statistics for European and US PGA Tour events for the public, I have processed:

1. 209,846 tournament result records (from 1556 tournaments) since 2003.
2. 151,658 tournament field stats (aka prediction) records (from 1094 tournaments) since 2008.
   
3. 6,360 golfers.

Unfortunately the time has come to call it a day. It had to happen sometime and the difficult decision to end this labour of love has been arrived at due to the following reasons:

 

1. Like myself, the technology behind Golf Predictor is ageing! While, it was the latest and greatest back in 2007 when I started the project, the technology is now somewhat out of date. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor inclination to rewrite the entire site using the latest technology (see following points).
2. My main hope for Golf Predictor was to make a living from it and to be able to devote my time full-time to it. Unfortunately, that never came to pass and I had to develop and run the site in my spare time, while maintaining a day job to pay the bills. This is not feasible in the long term, now that my personal circumstances have changed.
3. While I developed a complex website with many great stats and features, I have always struggled to get enough users to make it viable as anything more than a hobby. This is true (and personally very disappointing!) even in the past year when I made the site free for all users. Unfortunately, this makes both the current site and an entire site rewrite unviable.
   
4. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single minute of what must be thousands of hours spent on developing and enhancing Golf Predictor over the years. However, the ongoing weekly tasks have become a grind in recent times as more and more data has been imported into the site. On a typical week with two tournaments, I now have to source, process and import up to fifteen data feeds all on my own time.
   
5. There is an almost year round weekly commitment to running Golf Predictor, which can be difficult. I haven't missed a single week of producing stats in over twelve years, which amounts to all 1092 events on both major tours from the 2008 Masters on. This task was carried out even when ill, on holidays, during family funerals and even my own wedding and honeymoon! During the Coronavirus lock down earlier this year, I enjoyed the absence of the weekly grind and this probably influenced my decision to call it quits now.
6. Despite my best efforts and producing what I think is a good quality golf feed with over 40,000 posts, I have failed to build up a significant enough social media presence to possibly make the entire enterprise viable.
   
7. Since the first major I covered was the 2008 Masters, it's only fitting that the last major I covered was the 2020 Masters!
8. The end of the GP Season (calendar year) is the most logical time to stop.
   

 

I'd like to thank sincerely all the users of the site down through the years, in particular all the subscribers in the first eleven years and the generous donors in the last year of operation. All unused portions of donations will be returned in due course and I have disabled the log in and registration pages on the site.

 

I hope those few of you that registered or subscribed/donated found Golf Predictor useful over the years - I certainly did. Using the site to pick golfers (normally in the 40/1 to 80/1 range), I managed to make money long-term from the bookies, something that is not easy to do. I was delighted to finish on a high note with a 60/1 Antoine Rozner win the other week in Dubai. However, at the small stakes I bet at, this betting wouldn't fund my retirement either!

Now, if anyone is interested in purchasing a catchy domain name, an ageing website or a quality database of all the results* on the European and US PGA Tours since 2003, please let me know via the Contact GP page!

 

So long, and thanks for all the fish. 😀

*I also have a large amount of world ranking, strokes gained, bookmaker odds and DraftKings data!

2020 Golf Predictor Betting/Tipping Summary

Another golf year has finished and it's time to report on the 2020 Golf Predictor bets/tips. It was a strange year due to the Coronavirus, which meant a lengthy lay off period, followed by many rearranged and new tournaments. This did not make the job of backing golfers any easier, but I am delighted to report that despite an horrendous first two thirds to the year, I was able to finish very strongly to record a modest profit. The distribution of my winning bets (places/outright wins) during the year is shown below:

2020 bets - Winning bets (Places/Wins)

 

This clearly shows the aforementioned brutal period up until September and solid finish there after. A similar chart below shows the  amount won with the winning bets over the full year:

 

2020 bets - Winning bets (Units won)

 

Based on a one unit each way bet in each case, the basic stats for my year of betting/tipping are as follows:

 

Bets:	158
Outright Wins	2	Catlin, Ireland (40/1), Rozner, Dubai (60/1)
Places	22	15 full, 7 dead heat
Withdrew	1	Soderberg, Irish Open
Total outlay:	316
Total Win:	336.66
Profit	20.66*
Profit Margin	6.54%

 

As you can see, despite only two wins and fifteen full places (and seven more partial, or dead heat, places), I still managed to turn a profit in 2020. That is because my betting strategy of predominately backing golfers in the 40/1 to 80/1 range doesn't need a high strike rate to be profitable, as I have demonstrated this year. Picking three or four golfers per event at these odds or above only requires one golfer to place to turn a profit and the occasional win can deliver a serious return. The chart below shows the odds distribution of my bets this year:

2020 bets - Odds Distribution

 

113 (71.5%) of my bets this year were in the 40/1 to 80/1 range, with just 21 (13.3%) at prices less than that. Of those shorter than 40/1, only 2 (1.3% of total) were less than 30/1 (a couple of 28/1 shots). The remainder of my bets were long shots with the highest price being 150/1.

Interestingly, the breakdown of my wins by tour shows that I landed far more places on the US PGA Tour, but no wins. The converse is true on the European Tour, where despite a measly three places all year, I did also manage to land my two wins at decent enough odds:

2020 bets - Winning bets (Places/Wins by Tour)

That meant that I made almost the same amount off both tours in 2020, as this final chart shows:

2020 bets - Winning bets (Units won by Tour)

The profit this year means that, over the longer term, I remain significantly ahead of the bookies. My performance this year also shows the importance of being in it for the long haul. Everyone has fallow patches, but it is possible to overcome them with patience if you have a decent betting strategy.

*Notes: I stuck with one bookie for convenience. If I used an odds checking site and multiple accounts, I probably would have have increased my profit by around 15 to 20 points.

2020 - Week 50 Winner

Matthew Fitzpatrick (ranked 5th by Golf Predictor) won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on the European PGA Tour. The 26 year old Englishman won his sixth tour title and first for two years with a great finish in Dubai. Fitzpatrick came out of the traps quickly on Sunday with four straight birdies to spreadeagle a bunched leaderboard and was never really threatened after that. However, he was pipped to the Race to Dubai title after Lee Westwood finished one shot back in second place. Our top ranked player, Patrick Reed, didn't play well over the weekend, but still finished tied third with an incredible display of short game skills. Overall, we had a very healthy fourteen of the top twenty plus ties (14/22) in this limited field event.

 

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

2020 - Week 50 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/statistics for this week, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (European PGA Tour),are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the last event of the the year on the European PGA Tour and although no top Europeans like Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm this year, there is still a decent quality field in Dubai. American major champions Patrick Reed and Collin Morikawa headline the small field for the season finale.

 

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

2020 - Week 49 Winners

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the South African Open on the European PGA Tour. The 26 year old South African won his first home open and second tour title in a row at Sun City. Leading overnight by five shots, Bezuidenhout's advantage was cut to two strokes by Jamie Donaldson after a slow start by the South African. However, a birdie burst just after the turn allowed him to steady the ship and he had regained his overnight advantage by the end. Bezuidenhout was our top ranked golfer and we had nine of the top eighteen plus ties (9/19) in total. 

 

Antoine Rozner (ranked 3th by Golf Predictor) won the Golf in Dubai Championship on the European Tour. The 27 year old Frenchman won his first tour title in a final day battle with long time leader Andy Sullivan. The rookie closed with 64 (-8) to overcome a four shot overnight deficit and win by two shots from the Englishman. That made both him and me very happy as I had backed/tipped him at 60/1! Our top ranked golfer, Bernd Wiesberger, finished in tied 8th and we had seven of the top nineteen plus ties (7/21) in this new event. 
 

Viktor Hovland (ranked 9th by Golf Predictor) won the final event of 2020 on the US PGA Tour, the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The 23 year old Norwegian American won his second tour title in the birdie fest in Mexico. On a defenceless course in mostly benign damp conditions, Hovland broke out of a crowded leaderboard with Aaron Wise on the back nine. A play-off was looking likely, but the young Norwegian managed to birdie the final hole for a one shot victory. Our top ranked golfer, Justin Thomas, finished in tied 12th and we had twelve of the top twenty plus ties (12/22) in total.

2020 - Week 49 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the South African Open (European PGA Tour), the Golf in Dubai Championship (European PGA Tour) and the Mayakoba Golf Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Not much by way of top talent in either European Tour event this week, but despite Dustin Johnson's withdrawal, four of the world's top twenty are playing in Mexico. On the plus side for the European Tour, they have managed to put on another new tournament, this time as a curtain raiser to the season finale next week in Dubai. Because of that, there is a fair number of tour stalwarts teeing it up in Dubai.

 

 

2020 - Week 48 Winner

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (ranked 2nd by Golf Predictor) won the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 26 year old South African won his second tour title and his first on home soil with a good finish at Leopard Creek. On a tough final day in blustery conditions, Bezuidenhout steadied the ship after a poor couple of holes before the turn. He then finished strongly while others dropped shots all around him to win by four strokes in the end. Our top ranked golfer, Robert MacIntyre finished well for tied 6th and in an event that is usually difficult to predict, we had eleven of the top twenty plus ties (11/22) in total on the tough layout. 

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

2020 - Week 48 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Alfred Dunhill Championship (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Just the one event this week as the PGA Tour is taking a week off before its final event of the year next week.. Like previous years, there is a strong home presence in South Africa, where the field is pretty weak again. There is only five of the top one hundred in the world teeing it up, with home favourite Christiaan Bezuidenhout the highest ranked golfer in the field.

2020 - Week 47 Winners

Joachim B. Hansen (ranked 19th by Golf Predictor) won the Joburg Open on the European PGA Tour. The 30 year old Dane won his first tour title with an impressive display in Johannesburg. Hansen closed with a bogey free 67 to overtake home favourite, the big hitting Nico Nienaber. The tall South African had led for a long time, including by three shots at the turn. However a good back nine of three under by Hansen coupled with two closing bogeys by Nienaber meant the Dane won by two strokes. Our top ranked player, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, finished in tied 15th, despite battling jet lag from Augusta. Overall we had six of the top eighteen plus ties (6/18) in this event with a poor field.

Robert Streb (ranked 126th by Golf Predictor) won The RSM Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 33 year old American won his second PGA Tour title in a dramatic play-off in Georgia. Leading by three overnight, Streb ending up trailing Kevin Kisner with two to play. However, he managed to birdie the penultimate hole and par the last to tie Kisner after 72 holes. After the two former champions halvied the first extra hole, Streb set up a winning tap-in birdie on the next with a brilliant approach from the rough. Our top ranked player, Webb Simpson, finished in tied 37th and in an event that's usually hard to predict, we had only five of the top eighteen plus ties (5/22) in the windy conditions. 

2020 - Week 47 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/statistics for this week, the Joburg Open (European PGA Tour) and The RSM Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The European PGA Tour returns to South Africa for the first running of the tournament since 2017. No huge field this year, but the lack of any big names still makes it a bit of a lottery. This year, there are only two members of the world's top one hundred teeing it up in Johannesburg. The field is considerably stronger in Georgia where several big names have popped over from Augusta to tee it up! Webb Simpson headlines the field and it will be the second last chance before January for the lesser lights to put some FedEx Cup points on the board. 

 

2020 - Week 46 Winner

Dustin Johnson (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the first major of the year, The Masters (European/US PGA Tour). The 36 year old American finally won the second major his talent deserved with a great wire to wire display at Augusta. Johnson played brilliant golf on Saturday to open up a four shot lead going into the final round. Despite a nervous start when his lead was whittled briefly down to a single shot. DJ righted the ship with a birdie on the sixth. He then won at a canter, finishing with a record score on -20, five shots clear of Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im. DJ was our top ranked player and we had eleven of the top nineteen plus ties (11/22) in total in the weather affected major.

2020 - Week 46 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, The Masters (European/US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Only one tournament this week, but it's the big one! Excitement is mounting among golf fans ahead of what unusually is the final major of the season at Augusta. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the rescheduling of The Masters to an unfamiliar timeslot. It's pretty wide open again this year with several top players showing good form ahead of the tournament. It promises to be an exciting week's golf and I, for one, will be glued to the TV!

2020 - Week 45 Winners

Robert MacIntyre (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown on the European PGA Tour. The 24 year old Scot built on the great start to his career with his first tour title in Cyprus. Playing the new Showdown format on the same course as last week, the scores were reset after rounds two and three for the remaining players. In the final round shoot-out, MacIntyre finished strongly with a closing nine of thirty strokes, including a near ace on the penultimate hole. That allowed him to take the title by a single shot from Masahiro Kawamura. Our top ranked player, Thomas Detry, finished in tied 4th and we had eight of the top twenty plus ties (8/23*) in this new event.     

 

Carlos Ortiz (ranked 69th by Golf Predictor) won the Vivint Houston Open on the US PGA Tour. The 29 year old Mexican won his first tour title with an impressive final day performance in Texas. Ortiz prevailed on a final day with big names such as Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka and Jason Day all in the mix. Ortiz sealed his maiden win in style, with a closing birdie for a fine 65 to win by two shots. DJ was our top ranked player and he finished tied 2nd. Overall, we only had six of the top fifteen plus ties (6/19) in an event held on a tough new course.

 

* Due to withdrawals, Shinkwin is promoted to the top 23 of the GP Rankings.

2020 - Week 45 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Vivint Houston Open (US PGA Tour) and the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Thanks to the Coronavirus, Houston is once again the final chance of a tune-up before the Masters, so there's a few big names playing in Houston. World number one Dustin Johnson headlines the field as one of the  six of the top twenty in the world teeing it up there. Meanwhile, the European Tour stays in Cyprus for another week, where it is introducing yet another new format! The event is the first to use the new Showdown format and unsurprisingly has a similar field to last week.

2020 - Week 44 Winners

Callum Shinkwin (ranked 67th by Golf Predictor) won the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open on the European PGA Tour. The 27 year old Englishman won his first tour title with a play-off victory over Kalle Samooja. Shinkwin came from behind in regulation play with a great birdie-eagle to set the clubhouse target. Samooja birdied the final hole to catch him, but lost on the first extra hole after his short birdie putt lipped out. Our top ranked player, Andy Sullivan, finished very poorly for tied 58th and we had seven of the top seventeen plus ties (7/20) in this new event.    

Brian Gay (ranked 63rd by Golf Predictor) won the Bermuda Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 48 year old American overcame recent poor form to win his fifth tour title in a play-off with Wyndham Clark. Despite Clark amassing a three shot after a fast start to his the final round, he was caught by Gay after he slowed down on the back nine and Gay's putter heated up. Gay then prevailed at the first extra hole with another good putt for a winning birdie, despite being outside Clark, who couldn't match him. Our top ranked player, defending champion Brendan Todd, missed the cut and we had just six of the top sixteen plus ties (6/20) in total in this second tier, wind affected event.

Cookie Manager Added to Golf Predictor

In order to comply with EU GDPR regulations, I have added a cookie manager to Golf Predictor. This should pop up when you next visit the site and give you the option of using non-essential cookies on the site. You won't be able to block essential (necessary) cookies as they are obviously needed for the site to function. However, you can choose to block all other cookies, which pertain to website analytics and social media sites (see below for more details).

 

The cookie manager scans the site and actually revealed several cookies I wasn't aware of! These were used by the Twitter widget and mostly by the embedded YouTube video. This video is the little animation on the top of the About Golf Predictor page and it actually used many cookies. I was able to reduce the number by switching to the "nocookie" version of YouTube. However, despite its name, it doesn't actually get rid of all YouTube cookies, just some of them!

 

You can edit your cookie preferences at any time from the Privacy/Cookies page. The Cookies section of this page has been updated to show the results of the cookie scan and allow you to change your preferences. I have tested the new cookie manager on the site and everything appears to work as expected. If you notice any issues, please let me know via the Contact GP page.

2020 - Week 44 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open (European PGA Tour) and the Bermuda Championship (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The fields aren't very strong this week as the big names look to peak for Augusta in a few weeks. Defending champion Brendan Todd headlines the field in Bermuda, while Andy Sullivan is the highest world ranked golfer playing in the first new event in Cyprus.

2020 - Week 43 Winners

Ross McGowan (ranked 83rd by Golf Predictor) won the Italian Open on the European PGA Tour. The 38 year old Englishman won his second tour win with a birdie on the final green. McGowan overcame poor form to secure the title, eleven years after his first victory. McGowan trailed Laurie Canter for much of the final day, but an outrageous hole from the bunker out for birdie on the sixteenth meant he took the lead. Canter replied with a great birdie on the penultimate hole to go down the final hole all square with both McGowan and the finished Nicolas Colsaerts. McGowan poured in his twenty footer for birdie, but Canter missed from twice as close to end his chances. Our top ranked player, Lee Westwood, finished in tied 30th and we had only seven of the top sixteen plus ties (7/21).

 

Patrick Cantlay (ranked 9th by Golf Predictor) won the ZOZO Championship @ Sherwood on the US PGA Tour. The 28 year old American won his third tour title after overtaking frontrunners Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm on the back nine Sunday. After the leading duo stumbled down the stretch, Cantlay came through to win by a single shot after Rahm failed to birdie the final hole. Rahm was our top ranked player and we had thirteen of the top seventeen plus ties (13/25*) in total in this restricted field event.

 

*Due to withdrawals, Palmer & Scheffler are promoted to the top 25 of the GP Rankings.

2020 - Week 43 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, The ZOZO Championship @ Sherwood (US PGA Tour) and the Italian Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. The PGA Tour relocates the event from Japan to California due to the Coronavirus and Tiger Woods will be defending his title at Sherwood Country Club. He is up against a top quality field that includes seventeen* of the top twenty golfers in the world rankings. The line up in Italy is much more modest, as it's not a Rolex Series event this year. However, there is a large number of tour regulars teeing it up at the new course in Brescia.

 

*DJ pulled out beforehand, reducing the number to sixteen.
 

2020 - Week 42 Winners

Adrian Otaegui (ranked 23rd by Golf Predictor) won the Scottish Championship pres. by AXA on the European PGA Tour. The 28 year old Spaniard won his third tour title with a great start and finish at Fairmount St. Andrews. Otaegui opened with a fantastic 62 (-10) and won the title in style with a closing birdie for a 63 on Sunday. That allowed the Spaniard to overturn a four shot overnight deficit and finally record his first stroke play victory by four shots from overnight leader Matt Wallace. Our top ranked player, Lee Westwood, finished in tied 14th and we had eight of the top sixteen plus ties (8/24) in this new event.     

Jason Kokrak (ranked 40th by Golf Predictor) won The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek on the US PGA Tour. The 35 year old American won his first tour title at the relocated CJ Cup. Indeed it was local knowledge as an MGM sponsored golfer at Shadow Creek which helped Kokrak to finally get over the line on the PGA Tour! He finished strongly with a 64 to blow past overnight leader Russell Henley and beat a stacked field by two shots from Xander Schauffele. Our top ranked player, John Rahm, finished in tied seventeenth and we had seven of the top seventeen plus ties (7/20) in the restricted field event where many of the top players failed to perform.
 

2020 - Week 42 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Scottish Championship pres. by AXA (European PGA Tour) and The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The PGA Tour has moved the event from South Korea due to the Coronavirus and and there is a strong, if restricted field for the second week of the new Las Vegas Swing. While sixteen of the top twenty in the world are teeing it up at Shadow Creek, the new Scottish event has a much weaker field for its inaugural staging. Lee Westwood is the only member of the world's top fifty playing in Scotland, along with five others from mostly the lower reaches of the top one hundred.

2020 - Week 41 Winners

Tyrrell Hatton (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the BMW PGA Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 28 year old Englishman fulfilled a boyhood dream by winning the tour's flagship event at Wentworth. Leading by three shots overnight, Hatton was caught early on Sunday after a great start by Victor Perez. However, the Frenchman couldn't keep it going on the back nine and Hatton won comfortably in the end by four shots. Our top ranked player, Patrick Reed, finished strongly with an eagle for tied third and we had ten of the top twenty plus ties (10/23) on the testing Wentworth layout. 

 

Martin Laird (ranked 63rd by Golf Predictor) won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the US PGA Tour. The 37 year old Scot won his fourth tour title in a play-off in Las Vegas. Playing on a sponsor's invitation, Laird beat Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook with a birdie at the second extra hole to take the title for the second time. Our top ranked player, Webb Simpson, finished in tied 13th and we had nine of the top nineteen plus ties (9/23), in a birdie fest where many of the lesser lights came to the fore.

Tournament Correlations Added to Golf Predictor

I am happy to announce a new tournament correlation capability for Golf Predictor. This relatively computationally intensive capability is not available to users directly, but I can run it to identify tournaments with the most similar (good) results in the same GP Season (calendar year) on the same tour (European/US PGA Tour). For example, this may provide insights into an upcoming tournament by comparing the results for the event in the previous year with the other tour events in the same year. Obviously, this would be more useful for events held on the same course as the previous year. The functionality can either compare the entire fields for correlations or just matching top twenty results. The latter is much more useful as it may identity potential good performers in the upcoming event.

 

When comparing the entire field of the selected event to each of the others, if the same golfer has played in both and his results are similar, they are tagged as correlated. The degree of similarity can be adjusted, but the default is plus//minus ten places, e.g. if player A finished 23rd in the selected tournament, any result from 13th to 33rd in any of the other tournaments will be designated as correlated. For top twenty correlations, the results in both compared events obviously have to be in the top twenty.

When finished comparing each tournament to the selected event, the number of correlated results are totalled and expressed as a percentage of the total number of matches found. For example, if there are fifty golfers found that played in both compared events and of those, fifteen had similar results in both, the correlation factor for those events would be 30%. Higher correlation percentages are easier to find when there are fewer matches, so only tournaments with a significant number of matches should count. Through experimentation, with an appropriate lower limit on the number of matches, correlation percentages of approximately 25-40% seem to be the highest. In events with over 120 golfers, the minimum number of matches needed should be set to around fifty for better results in overall correlations. For top twenty correlations, there should be a lower minimum number (e.g. 12) of matches and a similar minimum correlation percentage to overall correlations. In both cases, the minimum number of matches and the minimum correlation percentage for correlated events can be specified in the system.

 

Once the correlations are found, the system can then examine the field for the upcoming event and find those playing who performed well (i.e, finished in the top twenty) in each correlated event this year (or, if the event hasn't been held yet or isn't being held at all, last year's event). This list of players for each correlated event is then amalgamated and sorted by frequency to find the players with the most matches. This should tell us the most likely golfers to perform well. For example, for the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the golfers with the most matches in correlated results found by the system are:

Bryson Dechambeau, 4 

Abraham Ancer, 4 

Hideki Matsuyama, 3 

Chez Reavie, 3 

Patrick Cantlay, 3

 

The correlated events for this tournament, using top twenty correlations, a minimum of 12 matches and a correlation percentage of 25% are:

 

Genesis Invitational

Players Championship

US PGA Championship

3M Open

Safeway Open

Travelers Championship

Open Championship

RBC Heritage 

There may be a case for only including correlated events that are held on the same course in the last two years. Doing so in the above case would exclude the two majors and reduce the matches for all the golfers above by one, except for DeChambeau. It would also bring other golfers on two matches into the equation, including Frittelli, Simpson, Hahn, Dahmen, Homa, English, Redman, Streelman and Zhang.

 

Hopefully, this new correlated tournaments functionality will be useful for most upcoming events. I will probably run it for most events that are held on the same course as the previous year and post the results either on this blog or on social media. Just another way to make Golf Predictor a little better!

 

   

2020 - Week 41 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the BMW PGA Championship (European PGA Tour) and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the flagship event on the European Tour this week, but the Coronavirus means no Rory McIlroy this year. However, Patrick Reed and Justin Rose have flown over to tee it up on the testing Wentworth layout. Meanwhile, the first event of the Las Vegas swing this year on the US PGA Tour has got an impressive field, with newly crowned US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau making his first appearance since becoming a major champion. In total, there are eight of the top twenty in the world teeing it up at TPC Summerlin.

 

2020 - Week 40 Winners

Aaron Rai (ranked 26th by Golf Predictor) won the ASI Scottish Open on the European PGA Tour. The 25 year old Englishman won his second tour title in a play-off win over Tommy Fleetwood. After losing a tournament late on last week after leading for a long time, Rai did the opposite this week to finish strongly and set a clubhouse target. Fleetwood birdied the last to catch him and after playing partner Robert Rock bogeyed the same hole, it left just two to fight it out over extra holes. Despite finding sand off the tee, Rai took the title at the first opportunity after Fleetwood missed a short par putt to extend the play-off. Fleetwood was our top ranked player and we had nine of the top nineteen plus ties (9/25*) in the weather affected event.    

 

Sergio Garcia (ranked 11th by Golf Predictor) won the Sanderson Farms Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 40 year old Spaniard won his eleventh tour title by pipping the fast finishing Peter Malnati in Jackson. After Malnati posted -18 with a closing 63, Garcia needed a birdie on the last to prevent a play-off. He duly obliged with a great approach to within three feet to secure his first title since his 2017 Masters triumph. Our top ranked player, Scottie Scheffler, finished in tied 37th and we had only four of the top seventeen plus ties (4/22) in an event that is traditionally hard to call.

 

*Waring was a WD, promoting Rai into the top 25 of the GP Rankings.

 

2020 - Week 40 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the ASI Scottish Open (European PGA Tour) and the Sanderson Farms Championship (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. There is a weaker than normal field playing in Scotland this year, due to the Covid-19 and its impact on the schedule and on travel. Despite that, there is a decent line-up of European players, with seven of the top fifty in the world rankings teeing it up at the Renaissance Club this week. There is also a weak line-up in Mississippi, where only five of the world's top fifty that are playing in the event. Given both fields this week, there is a decent chance of a surprise winner or two! 

 

2020 - Week 39 Winners

John Catlin (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old American won his second tour title in four weeks with a terrific final day at Galgorm Castle. Trailing by three shots overnight, Catlin finished with a bogey free 64 (-6) to overtake long time leader Aaron Rai and hold on for a one shot win. Rai had a chance to catch him, but got a terrible lie for his third shot on the par five finishing hole and had to settle for second place. Home favourite Shane Lowry was our top ranked player, but he disappointingly missed the cut. Overall, we had nine of the top fourteen plus ties (9/21*) in the weak fielded event. 

 

Hudson Swafford (ranked 66th by Golf Predictor) won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 33 year old American won his second tour title with an up and down performance in the Dominican Republic. Swafford came out of the blocks quickly on Sunday, opening up a four shot lead at one point. He stumbled on the back nine, dropping three shots to let the field back into it. However, a birdie on the seventeenth allowed him to steady the ship and beat Tyler McCumber by a single shot. Our top ranked player, Henrik Stenson, finished in tied 21st and we had eleven of the top twenty one plus ties (11/27) in this second string event.
 

*Soderberg was a WD, promoting Canter into the top 21 of the GP Rankings.

2020 - Week 39 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (European PGA Tour) and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. After the exertions at Winged Foot, not many big names playing this week. The US PGA Tour heads back to the Dominican Republic for its second tier event where Henrik Stenson is teeing it up surprisingly. No big names this year here in Ireland due to Covid-19, save for Open Champion Shane Lowry, who has flown over after the US Open to play at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort. 

 

2020 - Week 38 Winners

Bryson DeChambeau (ranked 18th by Golf Predictor) won the US Open on the European/US PGA Tour. The 27 year old American won his first major, with a dominant final day performance at Winged Foot. Trailing Matthew Wolff by two shots overnight, DeChambeau soon overturned the deficit with some impressive, if deliberate play. Indeed, he was the only player under par on Sunday on the demanding layout and the only player to finish under par after 72 holes. In the end, his closing 67 was three shots better than any other score and he won by six shots on -6. Our top ranked player, Dustin Johnson, never  featured at the top end of the leaderboard, but still finished in tied 6th. Overall, we had eleven of the top twenty one plus ties (11/21) in the second major of the year. 

Garrick Higgo (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the Open de Portugal at Royal Obidos on the European PGA Tour. The 21 year old South African won his first tour title in only his seventh event with an impressive display in Portugal. Higgo played some great golf, not dropping a shot in his last two and a half rounds to win by a shot from Pep Angles. Our top ranked player, last week's winner George Coetzee, finished in tied 3rd and we only had four of the top eighteen plus ties (4/23) in the weak fielded and weather interrupted event. 

 

2020 - Week 38 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the US Open (European/US PGA Tour) and the Open de Portugal at Royal Obidos (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The excitement is mounting for the second major of the disrupted year at Winged Foot in New York. As usual, the layout will be tricked up to challenge the best golfers in the world. No Brooks Koepka, but all the other big names will be looking to write their names in the history books. The field on the European Tour isn't very strong as a result, but last week's winner George Coetzee will fancy a Portuguese double!

2020 - Week 37 Winners

George Coetzee (ranked 7th by Golf Predictor) won the Portugal Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 34 year old South African won his fifth tour title with an impressive final round display in Vilamoura. Coetzee got off to a steady start on Sunday, parring until he birdied the difficult seventh hole. He then gave an superb display of frontrunning, finishing the round in four under par to win by two shots from Laurie Canter. Our top ranked player, late entrant Tommy Fleetwood, finished strongly for tied 3rd and we had seven of the top fourteen plus ties (7/23) at the birdiefest in the Algarve. 

 
Stewart Cink (ranked 79th by Golf Predictor) won the Safeway Open on the US PGA Tour. The 47 year old American won his seventh tour title in California eleven years after his last victory. With his son on the bag, the likeable Cink beat a host of more fancied younger guns to win in Napa. Our top ranked player, Shane Lowry, was one of the many bigger names who didn't perform and missed the cut. Overall, we had only four of the top fourteen plus ties (4/22) in the weak fielded event.

2020 - Week 37 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, the Safeway Open (US PGA Tour) and the Portugal Masters (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The new PGA Tour moves to California for the new 2020/21 season a full three days after the end of the previous season! There aren't many big names teeing it up in the season opener, even though it's the final chance of a tune-up before the US Open next week. The field in Portugal isn't very strong either, but at least they have Tommy Fleetwood playing at the birdie fest in the Algarve.

2020 - Week 36 Winners

John Catlin (ranked 49th by Golf Predictor) won the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old unfancied American won his first tour title with an impressive display at Valderrama. Leading by two strokes overnight, a closing round of four over par 75 was good enough for Catlin to pip Martin Kaymer on the closing hole. The duo had reached the final tee all square, but Catlin took the title with a par to the German's bogey. Strong winds made the already testing Valderrama layout even more challenging and the entire field finished over par. Our top ranked player, Bernd Wiesberger, finished in tied 31st after a poor final round and we had eight of the top seventeen plus ties (8/23*).

Dustin Johnson (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the Tour Championship (and therefore the FedEx Cup) on the US PGA Tour. The 36 year old American capped a great play-off series by taking the lucrative season ending title at East Lake. After a win and play-off loss in the previous two FedEx Cup events, DJ started on -10 in the new handicap system. That proved too much of a head-start to give the hottest player in the world and despite the gap closing somewhat on the back nine Sunday, he won fairly comfortably by three from Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas. DJ was our top ranked player and we had twelve of the top fifteen plus ties (12/16**) in the restricted field event.  


*Withdrawals mean Syme is promoted to the top 23 of the GP Rankings.

**The handicapped start and small field makes this comparison pretty irrelevant!

2020 - Week 36 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, the Tour Championship (US PGA Tour) and the the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Only the top thirty in the FedEx Cup rankings are playing in the US season finale this week and it's the usual cream of the crop, with some exceptions e.g. Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka. Theres's a staggered start again this year, with FedEx Cup points leader Dustin Johnson going off on -10 and tapering down from there. Note that Golf Predictor does not factor this into the GP Rankings/GP Score. Meanwhile on the European Tour, no Sergio Garcia or Jon Rahm this year due to Covid-19 and/or the Tour Championship, so there is a weaker field than usual playing on the challenging Valderrama layout.