This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
This week is the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the last event before the United States Open Championship next week. There's a mix of guys looking to tune up their games for Oakmont (see: Phil Mickelson), mixed with an up-and-comers looking to use this event as a chance to get their first win. Here's our stats thread:
Inside William McGirt's win
Let's use the new strokes gained stats (debuted last week, an explanation contained within last week's column) to analyze McGirt's victory last week at the Memorial. The key for him: consistency while not being flashy. 19th in strokes gained off the tee, tenth in approach to the green, 38th in around the green, and 16th in putting. If you follow McGirt's game you know it's not sexy and it's kind of boring, encapsulated perfectly by his one-birdie, 17-par performance on Sunday. His total strokes gained number for the week of 11.172 may seem like a lot but it was spread pretty widely. Strong putting performances on Thursday and Friday gained 2.5 shots on the field while a strong iron game helped the approach shot stat on Saturday. Steady and not gaining or losing much ground on Sunday made sure he didn't tumble down the rankings. And after a stellar pitch on the second playoff hole, McGirt had his first PGA Tour win.
The Stat
TPC Southwind is one of those courses on the PGA Tour that really doesn't have a key stat. You just got to keep making birdies. Fabian
This week is the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the last event before the United States Open Championship next week. There's a mix of guys looking to tune up their games for Oakmont (see: Phil Mickelson), mixed with an up-and-comers looking to use this event as a chance to get their first win. Here's our stats thread:
Inside William McGirt's win
Let's use the new strokes gained stats (debuted last week, an explanation contained within last week's column) to analyze McGirt's victory last week at the Memorial. The key for him: consistency while not being flashy. 19th in strokes gained off the tee, tenth in approach to the green, 38th in around the green, and 16th in putting. If you follow McGirt's game you know it's not sexy and it's kind of boring, encapsulated perfectly by his one-birdie, 17-par performance on Sunday. His total strokes gained number for the week of 11.172 may seem like a lot but it was spread pretty widely. Strong putting performances on Thursday and Friday gained 2.5 shots on the field while a strong iron game helped the approach shot stat on Saturday. Steady and not gaining or losing much ground on Sunday made sure he didn't tumble down the rankings. And after a stellar pitch on the second playoff hole, McGirt had his first PGA Tour win.
The Stat
TPC Southwind is one of those courses on the PGA Tour that really doesn't have a key stat. You just got to keep making birdies. Fabian Gomez's -13 final score won last year, and he was -7 on the par-5s in route to that victory. He added another victory in a playoff earlier this year at the Sony Open, and tied for ninth at the Wells Fargo before withdrawing and missing the cut in his last two starts. His stats aren't very good, with his best ones being 81st in strokes gained – off the tee and 75th in strokes gained – putting. If you need someone/love history as an indicator, pick him this week. If not, there are better people out there.
Here are the par-5 scoring leaders in the field this week:
Ryan Palmer -- 4.50
Gary Woodland -- 4.52
Harold Varner III -- 4.53
Phil Mickelson -- 4.54
Charles Howell III -- 4.56
Palmer seems due for a win. Desperately trying to get into the US Open – he's got to crack the top-50 by the end of play Sunday in the world rankings – he nearly won at Colonial and has been lurking for weeks now. For the 2015-2016 PGA Tour season he's eighth in strokes gained – off the tee and 62nd in approach to the green but a shocking 125th in around the green and 105th in putting. That being said, he was 45th in putting at Colonial and I recommend him, thinking that momentum will carry over into this week.
Woodland is in the exact same boat, as he let a chance to go to Oakmont slip away last week at Memorial. He's 33rd in strokes gained – off the tee and 19th in approach to the green but 101st in putting for the season, a number that was much better -- 3.172 which had him 22nd for the week – at Memorial. I also recommend him and think a win could come this week.
Mickelson is lurking. Professionally lurking as Gary McCord would say. He just couldn't quite get it together and put together a consistent 72 holes at Memorial. He jumped into contention on Sunday at Memorial where four bogeys doomed any chance at victory. In fact Phil was T6 in birdies but T64 in bogeys, a wide disparity that has led to his inconsistent play in 2016 in a year where he's shown so much promise. He was first in green sin regulation last week and while I'm honestly not sure if he's ready to play 72 solid holes and get a win, that's a good stat to have on your side.
The Field
The field also includes Dustin Johnson, Jon Curran, Harris English, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Brooks Koepka, new professional Lee McCoy (he who almost won in Tampa), Graeme McDowell, David Toms and more.
Why has McDowell struggled so much as next week marks six years after his US Open title at Pebble Beach? It's his driving and putting. He ranks 127th in strokes gained – off the tee (165th in driving distance), and 129th strokes gained – putting this season on the PGA Tour. That combination will not work and until it improves I do not recommend him.
The Weather
Memphis in summer can be dangerous but this week actually looks good, with highs in the 90s, sunny skies, and light winds.
