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!

Average Course Length on the US/European PGA Tours 2003-2015

Course lengths 2003-15 (click to enlarge)

Using the average lengths for the courses used on US and European PGA Tour are available on Golf Predictor, the chart above shows the average length of course used on each tour (and on both tours combined) for the 2003-2015 seasons*. A similar post for the 2003-09 seasons is available here). The first seven years on the chart above uses those course lengths from 2009. Years from 2010 on use the latest course lengths in the database (May 2016).

Looking at the chart, it's apparent that the courses are getting longer and also that the length of courses used on the European PGA Tour is catching up to those used on the US PGA Tour. Courses for the first seven years were consistently about 100 yards longer than those used on the European PGA Tour, but in the last few years, this disparity has reduced to about 50 yards. The average length appears to stay relatively constant over each period (2003-09 and 2010-15), but that may be due to the fact that only the latest available yardage for each course was used at the end of each period.

*Course lengths have been ascertained from official sources where possible. GP seasons (calendar years) are used.

2014 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2014 on both major tours in South Africa yesterday, the statistics for the 2014 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 498 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2014 calendar year).

Unsurprisingly, Rory McIlroy is the top golfer when the average finishing position for the season is used as the primary ranking statistic. The Northern Irish world number one had a very impressive 4 wins and 16 top tens in 23 events in 2014. Surprisingly and somewhat disappointingly, McIlroy's worst performance was at his home open, where his missed cut really hurt his average finishing position. I hope I didn't put him off when I was on duty following his group that week in Cork! Despite not coming in first over the year, Adam Scott had a very similar average to McIlroy, albeit with just 1 win and 10 top tens from 18 starts. However, he didn't miss any cuts and that gave him an impressive level of consistency for the year.

Rory had the most wins and the most top tens of any golfer in 2014. His winning percentage was 17.4% and his top ten percentage was an impressive 69.8%. Other somewhat interesting statistics include Bill Haas' 29 events in 2014 without missing a single cut. An honourable mention to Jim Furyk, who played 21 events while always making the weekend. On the other extreme, John Parry had the unenviable record of 23 missed cuts in 29 events. Finally, Brendon de Jonge was once again the hardest working golfer, playing an impressive 33 weeks of the year. This was two less events than last year and this slacking off allowed Chris Doak and Nicholas Thompson to tie him for tournaments played in 2014!

See these and many more interesting 2014 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!

2013 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2013 on both major tours in South Africa yesterday, the statistics for the 2013 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 529 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2013 calendar year).

Somewhat surprisingly, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson or Adam Scott are in the top four when average finishing position for the season is used as the primary ranking statistic. Despite not winning, Steve Stricker's decision to curtail his season paid off, as he had both the lowest average and was the most consistent among the top performers, albeit from only 13 events. It's no wonder other top golfers are considering following suit! It should be noted though that Adam Scott only played 16 events and Tiger Woods played 18 on both major tours in 2013, so those schedules were not that different from Stricker's.

Tiger had the most wins (5) and Stenson pipped Rose for the most top tens (13) of any golfer in 2013. That corresponds to a leading winning percentage of 27.8% for Woods and a fourth best top ten percentage of 43.3% for Stenson. Because the Swede played 30 tournaments in 2013, Stricker, Woods and Rose all had a higher top ten percentage.

Other somewhat interesting statistics include Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar sharing the best missed cuts statistic. All three played 25 events without missing a single cut and an honourable mention to Jason Day, who played 21 events while always making the weekend. On the other extreme, Niclas Fasth (27 events) and Robert Allenby (30 events) had the unenviable record of most cuts missed (20) in 2013. Finally, Brendon de Jonge was the hardest working golfer in 2013, playing an impressive 35 weeks of the year (with 5 top tens to show for it). See these and many more interesting 2013 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!


Note: The course for the Nelson Mandela Championship (2013 GP Season, 2014 European Tour) was shortened slightly and clean and place was in operation due to excessive rain. This skewed the round averages and other statistics slightly for all golfers who played that event and the two rounds of 59 scored there do not count as official records.

2012 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2012 on both major tours in South Africa yesterday, the statistics for the 2012 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 529 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2012 calendar year).

Somewhat surprisingly (given the golfer of the year), Tiger Woods is back on top of the pile when average finishing position for the season is used as the primary ranking statistic. Woods played 21 events in 2012 and is the only golfer with an average finish of less than 20. The aforementioned golfer of the year, Rory McIlroy, had a somewhat inconsistent (if successful!) season, with an equal number of wins and missed cuts (5). The latter five tournament results contributed to him not even making the top twenty of the season ranking on Golf Predictor! On the plus side, he did have the most wins and top tens (16) of any golfer in 2012. He also had the highest percentage in these stats (winning 20.8% of tournaments played and finishing in the top ten in 66.7% of them).

Other somewhat interesting statistics include Ian Poulter (23 events) being the only golfer with a full schedule (at least 20 events) who didn't miss a single cut. On the other extreme, Sung-Hoon Kang (30 events) had the unenviable record of most cuts missed (22). See these and many more interesting 2012 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!


Note: The course for the Nelson Mandela Championship (2012 GP Season, 2013 European Tour) was shortened to a par 65 due to excessive rain. This reduced par slightly skews the round averages and other statistics for all golfers who played that event. A new "Note" field has been added to the golfer Season Statistics page and displays a message to this effect for all the golfers affected.

Average World Ranking of 2012 European/US PGA Tour winners

Reading directly off the Tournament Winners page on  Golf Predictor, the average world ranking of the winners on the 2012 US PGA Tour was 69.81. The corresponding figure for the 2012 European Tour was almost 40% higher at 96.96. That is probably a fair enough reflection of the relative strengths of the fields on both tours.

Interestingly, both averages are significantly lower than the 2011 values, which were 113.23 in the US and 141.02 in Europe. That obviously implies that the higher ranked players (especially Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods!) performed better in the season just ended.
 

Best/Worst Fields on the European/US PGA Tours

Now that the field strength metric has been added to every predicted tournament on Golf Predictor, it is possible to gleam all sorts of interesting related information from the system. This includes the tournaments with the best/worst fields on either tour (or both tours together), the relative strength of different types of tournaments (major/WGC/FedEx Cup/regular) and the relative strength of European PGA Tour and US PGA Tour events.

Best Fields (US PGA Tour and Overall)

This has long been a contentious issue, with many commentators (mostly American!) claiming that The Players Championship has the strongest field in professional golf. Although I was personally of the opinion that some of the WGC events had stronger fields, the new field strength metric shows that I was wrong! The system shows that the tournaments with the top three strongest fields in each of the past three seasons has been:

1. WGC - Accenture Match Play
2. The Players Championship
3. The Barclays

However, when the alternates* are stripped out  and only the actual participants used, The Players Championship has indeed the strongest field. Of course, if Lee Westwood (and Rory McIlroy) bothered to turn up, it would probably have the strongest field regardless! In any event, it's definitely the stroke play event with the strongest field. Most of the WGC events do have a higher concentration of top ranked players, but their restricted fields lack the necessary depth.

*Field strength is calculated using entry lists, including alternates. The WGC field usually has 8 alternates plus the 64 participants. This large percentage of alternates (12.5%) increases the field depth disproportionally, thus overtaking The Players Championship.

Worst Fields (US PGA Tour)

The system shows that the tournaments with the weakest fields on the US PGA Tour over the past three seasons have been:

1. CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia (last 2 years)
2. Hyundai Tournament of Champions (ironically!)
3. Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun
4. Puerto Rico Open pres. by seepuertorico.com

The first two weren't helped by a small field size, but it's no surprise to see the Mexican and Puerto Rican events on the list.

Best Fields (European PGA Tour)

Unsurprisingly, the tournaments with the top three strongest fields in each of the past three seasons are all WGC events:

1. WGC - Accenture Match Play
2. WGC - Bridgestone Invitational
3. WGC - Cadillac Championship

However, discounting these events, it seems that apearance money is having an effect! The strongest European only fields tend to be in the Middle East, with Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai featuring prominently. Other events with similar field strengths are the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Barclays Singapore Open, The Barclays Scottish Open and the flagship BMW PGA Championship.

Worst Fields (European PGA Tour)

There is more volatility in this category, but the main recurring events at the weaker end of the European PGA Tour are:

1. Saint Omer Open pres by Neuflize OBC
2. Austrian Golf Open pres. by Lyoness
3. Alfred Dunhill Championship*

The Saint Omer Open pres by Neuflize OBC tends to have the worst field on either tour, but the next weakest events are divided among both tours.

*This is the South African event, as opposed to the Scottish starfest mentioned above!

Field Strength (Regular Events)

While the normally larger number of alternates in European events may account for some of the difference, regular European PGA Tournaments generally have somewhat weaker fields than their US PGA Tour counterparts. European events average 61.2% while the corresponding figure for US events is 65.0%. Obviously, The Players Championship (85.6%) on the US PGA Tour has had the strongest field since our records began in 2008. The strongest field on the European PGA Tour has a field strength of 73%, achieved by a number of different events* over the past four years. The tournament with the worst field is last week's Volvo Golf Champions (34.9%) on the European PGA Tour, due in large part to its restricted field. The weakest field on the US PGA Tour over the past four years has been the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia (41.9%), also an event with a small field and not many star names.

*Most of these are listed in the 'Best Fields (European PGA Tour)' section above.

Field Strength (Majors)

Surprisingly (on the face of it), the majors do not have strong fields. This is largely due to the collection of former winners, amateurs and/or qualifiers that tee it up every year in the four biggest events. In addition, The Masters usually only has a field size in the mid nineties, which makes it the major with the worst field strength (late 40s-early mid 50s). I bet the green blazers will love that statistic! The majors with the strongest fields over the past four years have been the Brtitish Open and the US PGA Championship, which have near identical field strengths in the low 70s. The average field strength for majors is 63.3%.

Field Strength (WGCs)

As stated above, WGC events have the highest concentration of top ranked players competing of any tournament, but their restricted fields lack the necessary depth. The exception is the relatively new WGC - HSBC Champions event in China, which attracts much weaker fields (late 50s-early 60s). The WGC with the strongest field over the past four years has been the WGC - Accenture Match Play (86%*). The average field strength for WGCs is 75.4%. This makes them the tournaments with the strongest fields, narrowly beating the FedEx Cup events into second place.

*As stated above, the large percentage of alternates (12.5%) increases the field depth disproportionally. Using the participants only, the field strength falls below that of The Players Championship

Field Strength (FedEx Cup)

As alluded to above, FedEx Cup events also have strong fields. This is good news for the US PGA Tour (and FedEx, no doubt!). The exception, ironically enough, is The Tour Championship pres. by Coca-Cola (63.1%). This, of course, is down to the whittling down process of the FedEx Cup series which only leaves 30 players playing for the big dosh at East Lake! The FedEx Cup with the strongest field over the past four years has been The Barclays with an impressive field strength in the low 80s. This indicates that the cream does indeed rise to the top and the right players are qualifying for the play-offs. The average field strength for FedEx Cup events is 73.8%, just short of the WGC average.

Summary

1. Using entry lists (including alternates), the WGC - Accenture Match Play pips The Players Championship for the strongest field.
2. Using participant lists (excluding alternates), The Players Championship has the strongest field.
3. From above, obviously The Players Championship has the strongest field of all stroke play events.
4. The tournament with the worst field (so far!) is the 2012 Volvo Golf Champions on the European PGA Tour.
5. The US PGA Tour tends to have somewhat better fields than the European PGA Tour.
6. WGC events have the strongest fields on average, followed by FedEx Cup events, regular US PGA Tour events, majors and finally European PGA Tour events. 
7. From above, majors have surprisingly relatively weak fields. However, the pressure of winning one and writing oneself into the history books more than makes up for it!

Average Course Length on the US/European PGA Tours 2003-2009

Now that the average lengths for the courses used on the US and European PGA Tour since 2003 are available on Golf Predictor, it is possible to plot the data and look for trends. The chart above shows the average length of course used on each tour (and on both tours combined) for the 2003-2009 seasons*. A similar page for 2003-15 course lengths is available here.

Looking at the chart, the US PGA Tour courses are consistently about 100 yards longer than those used on the European PGA Tour. The average length appears to stay relatively constant over the period, but that may be due to the fact that we only store the latest available yardage for each course (2009).

*Note that some courses have to be finalised for the 2009 European PGA season. Course lengths have been ascertained from official sources where possible. Finally, the lengthening of existing courses is not reflected in the statistics.

Number of Golfers Playing on the US & European PGA Tours 2003-2008

Now that all the US and European PGA Tour tournament data since 2003 is in Golf Predictor, the statistics mining can go into overdrive! The chart above shows the number of distinct competitors on each tour (and on both tours combined) for the 2003-2008 seasons*. The discrepancy between the overall numbers and the individual tour numbers arises from the fact that many golfers play events on both tours or events sanctioned by both.

Looking at the chart, there are some interesting trends. The number of golfers on the US PGA Tour remained more or less constant from 2003-2006, but has fallen somewhat in the last 2 years. The European PGA Tour has had far more golfers competing on it than the US PGA Tour (about 60-100% more) since 2003. Similar to the US PGA Tour, the numbers on the European Tour were relatively constant from 2003-2006. However, in this case, the number has been increasing in the past 2 seasons.

In the 6 seasons form 2003-2008, a total of 2538 different golfers competed on the European PGA Tour, 1603 on the US PGA Tour, and 3211 golfers overall. What this means, we're not sure, but it might be useful to know sometime!

*Note that due to different names/spellings for the same golfer, there may be a tiny amount of duplication in the database. We have, of course, taken steps to minimise this and correct it when it is detected.