Hello friends! Last week we took a glance at Strokes Gained statistics and how the top 10 in each category translated into money and wins. Over the next few weeks we are going to take a deeper dive into each of the five categories from last week’s post.
This edition is Strokes Gained: off the tee best and worst. We will take a look at the 10 players with the greatest improvement from 2018 to 2019 and the 10 players with the greatest drop from 2018 to 2019.
As with last week, money if “official” money earned and does not include any bonus money such as FedEx Cup bonuses. Also, the standard disclaimer, data provided by Shotlink does not include Major Championships as the PGA TOUR does not run any of them.
Let’s see how this shakes out.
Most Improved
| Rank | Player | SGT +/- | Official Money | Money List Rank |
| 1 | Cameron Tringale | +1.243 | $ 1,049,106 | 106 |
| 2 | Sung Kang | +0.653 | $ 2,801,650 | 31 |
| 3 | Paul Casey | +0.476 | $ 4,257,040 | 13 |
| 4 | Scott Brown | +0.464 | $ 999,457 | 115 |
| 5 | Jhonattan Vegas | +0.459 | $ 1,566,910 | 70 |
| 6 | Rory McIlroy | +0.434 | $ 7,785,286 | 2 |
| 7 | Robert Streb | +0.424 | $ 796,525 | 137 |
| 8 | Jonas Blixt | +0.421 | $ 838,271 | 133 |
| 9 | Nick Taylor | +0.393 | $ 892,663 | 125 |
| 10 | Jason Day | +0.359 | $ 2,637,480 | 35 |
| Average | $ 2,362,439 | 77 |
Largest Drops
| Rank | Player | SGT +/- | Official Money | Money List Rank |
| 1 | Jordan Spieth | -0.723 | $ 2,124,192 | 51 |
| 2 | Henrik Stenson | -0.720 | $ 1,397,370 | 82 |
| 3 | Francesco Molinari | -0.585 | $ 3,467,143 | 22 |
| 4 | Peter Uihlein | -0.574 | $ 842,991 | 132 |
| 5 | Graeme McDowell | -0.550 | $ 1,671,523 | 65 |
| 6 | Michael Kim | -0.533 | $ 104,936 | 220 |
| 7 | Anirban Lahiri | -0.501 | $ 419,620 | 177 |
| 8 | Kiradech Aphinbanrat | -0.500 | $ 1,630,073 | 67 |
| 9 | Andrew Putnam | -0.493 | $ 2,439,137 | 40 |
| 10 | Sam Saunders | -0.486 | $ 413,887 | 178 |
| Average | $ 1,451,087 | 103 |
For Better or Worse
Some interesting observations:
- It’s incredible to me that Rory McIlroy, who led the TOUR in SGT was
also the 6the most improved, wonder why he had three wins and 14 top 10s this year. - I think Molinari’s drop is an aberration, he had such a good year off the tee in 2018 it would be almost impossible to duplicate it.
- Stenson’s drop however is a little shocking for that quality of ball striker.
- Michael Kim had just an awful year, golf can be so cruel.
- Two of the most improved drivers of the ball missed the FEC Playoffs while four of the largest droppers missed.
- Five wins for most improved (McIlroy (3), Kang and Casey). Two wins for largest drops (Molinari and McDowell).
That about sums up Strokes Gained: Off The Tee best and worst for 2019. The data provided by Shotlink continues to support improvements off the tee leads to more cash homey. Keep an eye out for our analysis of Strokes Gained: Approach The Green over the next several days. I’m excited to see what we might find.
The Doctor Is Out…
Doc Mulligan
docmulligan@mygolfgeek.com