PGA – MY 2019 FRANKENGOLFER
Hello again, friends. I’m a little late getting this eighth annual blog article out due to other projects I have going on.
But, I have been thinking about it and wondering which PGA players excelled in each important statistical category last season to make up what I call my hypothetical “Frankengolfer”.
So, who is it going to be this time?
- Driving – BRENDAN STEELE
- The Greens – JUSTIN THOMAS
- Short Game – DENNY MCCARTHY
- Intangibles – BROOKS KOEPKA
Driving –
Picking Brendan Steele to be the driving portion of my Frankengolfer may come as a surprise. But, the 36-year old American was the best in the Total Driving statistic last season (Driving Distance + Accuracy).
What may also surprise you: In 2019, Steele was the most accurate and farthest hitting Tour Pro in the last 20 years, maybe ever.
Let’s look at the numbers: Last season, Steele’s Driving Distance was (302.5 yards – 34th ranking) and Accuracy (68.71% – 22nd ranking) which totaled an overall score of 56. No other player (statistically speaking) averaged that length of distance and high accuracy over the course of one season, ever.
This kind of balance off the tee is remarkable. Only Gary Woodland came close in 2019. His Driving Distance was (308.2 yards – 13th ranking) and Accuracy (63.41% – 79th), totaled an overall score of 92.
Something else stuck out to me about Steele: He averaged 77.18% accuracy during his last 4 tournaments of the year (June-Aug).
So, why then did the 15-year Tour Pro only make the Top 25 three times last season and go on to miss the cut 10 times in 22 attempts? Why did he finish 171st in the FedEx standings, the worst of his career?
It’s not because of Ball Striking. He T-3 last year in that category which essentially averages Total Driving and Greens in Regulation. And, Steele wasn’t bad in G.I.R (T-77nd).
It was the putter that let him down. In almost every major statistical putting category, Steele was at or near the bottom. Putts Per Round (he ranked 188 out of 188); One Putt Percentage (183); 3-Putt Avoidance (179); Total Putting (165); SG Putting (176).
Another player who performed well off the tee in 2019 which deserves to be mentioned is Paul Casey. He was able to garner fifteen Top 25 finishes and come in fifth in the FedExCup Standing, because he ranked third in Total Driving (Driving Distance – 298.4 yards) + (Accuracy – 67.68%); sixth in SG Tee to Green; ninth in SG Off the Tee; tenth in SG Total; and first in Ball Striking.
The Greens –
Justin Thomas continues to impress me every year. His consistency, work ethic and likability make him one of my favorite players to watch on the Tour.
In 2019, the 26-year old did not disappoint. Among the 20 events he played, he made the Top 10 seven times and the Top 25 fourteen times. He also secured a win late in the season at the BMW Championship which helped vault him up to finish third in the FedEx Cup standings.
How he did it was largely due to his amazing ability to score because of his iron play. He was first in GIR from Fairway, (84.02%), Sixth in GIR (70.68%); second in Fairway Proximity; first in Birdie Average; ninth in Going for the Green (72.46%); second in Going for the Green – Birdie or Better (69.68%); first in Approaches from 250-275 yards; second in Approaches from 125-150 yards; fourth in Approaches from 50-125 yards; fifth in Approaches from 100-125 yards; tenth in Approaches from 150-175 yards, first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (.985), fourth in Strokes Gained: Total, fifth in Scoring Average (69.466), first in Scoring Average (Actual) (68.99).
Another player that excelled with his irons last year was 28-year old Canadian Corey Connors. He turned pro in 2015, but 2019 was the best season of his career when he finished 31st in the FedEx Cup Standings. In 28 events, he had seven Top 25 finishes, four Top 10 finishes and a win at the Valero Open Texas Open… I have a feeling we’ll be seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard in years to come. 2019 Stats: first in Greens in Regulation, first in Fairway Proximity, first in Proximity to the Hole, first in Greens or Fringe in Regulation, Sixth in GIR % from Fairway, ninth in GIR % 200+ yards, third in Approaches from 125-150 yards, sixth in Approaches from 175-200 yards, seventh from Approaches from >275 Yards (RGH), seventeenth in Scrambling from the Fringe.
Once again, Paul Casey makes the honorable mentions list in this category. He ranked fourth in GIR, sixth in SG: Tee to Green, eighth in SG: Approach Green, seventeenth Approach the Hole.
Brooks Koepka also shined with his irons in 2019 finishing eleventh in GIR (69.97%), sixth in Going for the Green (73.58%), fifth in Fairway Proximity, seventh in Approaches from >275 yards, first in Approaches from 175-200 yards, fifth in Approaches from 50-125 yards (RGH), eighth in Approaches from 100-125 yards (RGH).
Short Game –
If you read my Frankengolfer blog last year, you will recognize the name Denny McCarthy. He was one of the “Potential Breakthrough Stars” I mentioned in the bonus section of that article.
I liked the pedigree of this 27-year old originally from Maryland. You will recall he went to UVA where he was a two-time All-American and was on the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup with Spieth, JT and Schniederjans. He also led the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship to victory along with Hossler and DeChambeau. He bounced onto the PGA Tour in 2018 and has made a steady rise up the rankings since.
What propels him onto this list is his work with the flat stick in 2019. Bottom-line: This kid can putt. And, he knows it.
In a funny interview last year alongside fellow player Wyndham Clark (a good putter in his own right), McCarthy picked himself to be the putting portion of his “perfect golfer” over all other PGA players.
Last season, McCarthy was first in SG: Putting (.926), second in Total Putting, ninth in Putting Average, ninth in One Putt Percentage, ninth in Putts Per Round, fifth in Putting from 6’, second in Putting from 4-8’, fifth in Putting – Inside 10’, first in Putting from 15-20’, second in Average Distance of Putts Made, sixth in Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage.
A close second in the putting category was Jordan Spieth. He certainly has not been the same player for the last two years that he was from 2015-17 (three majors and a Tour Championship). But his putter still had its mojo in 2019.
Spieth ranked second in SG: Putting (.862), first in Putting Average (1.694), first in One-Putt Percentage, first in Putts Per Round (27.71), first in Putts Per Round 1, first in Putts Per Round 2, first in Putting from 10-15’, first in Putting From >25; first in Average Distance of Putts Made (84’10”) and second in Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage.
I certainly hope Spieth can pull together the rest of his game and become the player again we know he can be. Perhaps a coaching change is in order for him to get a different perspective on his driver and iron play which have been awful the last two seasons.
| Stat | Spieth 2019 Ranking | Spieth 2015 Ranking |
| SG: Off the Tee | 176 | 15 |
| SG: Approach Green | 145 | 11 |
| SG: Tee to Green | 157 | 4 |
| SG: Total | 59 | 2 |
Intangibles –
Merriam Webster defines “intangible” as: “influencing you but not able to be seen or physically felt”. It is therefore apropos that Brooks Koepka become the intangibles portion of my 2019 Frankengolfer.
Last year, he admitted, “I just practice before the majors. Regular tournaments, I don’t practice. When you see me on TV, that’s when I play golf.”
This statement is pretty remarkable given what Koepka was able to accomplish last year: He won three times including his fourth major at the PGA Championship, came in second to Tiger at the Masters by one shot, tied for fourth at The Open Championship, tied for third at the Tour Championship and finished first in FedExCup Playoff Points. He also was in the Top 10 nine times, the Top 25 thirteen times and only missed the cut once in 21 events played. And, he became the fifth player in history to finish in the top five at all four majors in a single year and the fifth to win a major and a WGC in the same season.
What’s even more remarkable is that Koepka revealed after the season ended that he had played through a knee injury, one that required surgery and rehab.
The question remains for Koepka in 2020: Will his streak continue? So far this season, he’s been struggling. He’s already missed a cut and was forced to withdraw due to ongoing issues with his knee. And, he admitted he’s been in a lot of pain. But if anyone can play through adversary and find his form again, we know it’s Brooks Koepka.
BONUS: THOUGHTS ON HOW CORONAVIRUS KICKED SPORTS TO THE CURB
By now, unless you live off the grid or under a rock, you are fully aware of how the Coronavirus outbreak is affecting everyone’s daily lives.
Stocks have plunged, travel around the world has been disrupted, businesses and schools have closed, and the general public is panicking into buying toilet paper en masse.
Meanwhile, across the globe, we are all trying to stay calm and go about our daily lives with some sense of normalcy.
It reminds me of the time surrounding the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. There was a similar feeling of disruption and an uncertainty about what was to come and when/how we were going to resume our lives.
But, after 9/11, at least we had sports to help calm our fears and reassure us.
We won’t have that now as every major sporting event scheduled in the coming weeks has been shut down for fear of the virus spreading.
This feels surreal.
Sports have a way of bringing us together as a nation, a world. They help distract us from whatever we are dealing with in our lives. It’s escapism in its purest form.
Yet, on another level, sports can inspire us, lift us up, console us.
Remember when President Bush threw out the first pitch in Game 3 of the 2001 World Series in Yankee Stadium (just 49 days after the twin towers came crashing down) and the crowd started cheering, “USA, USA, USA…”
We won’t have anything like that now.
Baseball is postponed.
The NBA and NHL have suspended their seasons.
Tennis tournaments canceled.
The Olympics are in jeopardy of not happening.
We could see a Kentucky Derby without an audience.
The Masters was postponed…
Of course, everyone’s health is the first priority. I have an elderly mother with health issues, so I understand all about the risks.
But, to not have sports at all in our lives?
I do have some reading I could catch up with.
Netflix, YouTubeTV and Amazon Prime are all available to me.
It’s just not going to be the same.
Maybe I’ll take out my glove and throw the baseball around with my husband in the backyard this weekend.
Or, I could knock the dust off my golf clubs and hit some balls at the range. Assuming the club will be open, that is…
Source : PGA Tour
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