Padraig Harrington prevailed in a playoff against PGA TOUR rookie Daniel Berger to win the Honda Classic.
Harrington won his first PGA TOUR event since 2008 on the strength of his approach shots. He gained 3.1 strokes per round in his victory, with approach shots contributing 2.3 strokes of the total gain. Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown Harrington’s play at the Honda Classic:
| Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) | Rank | |||||
| Padraig Harrington | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt | out of |
| 2015 Season | -0.5 (136) | -0.7 (177) | 0.1 (77) | 0.1 (88) | 0.0 (92) | 186 |
| The Honda Classic | 3.1 (1) | 0.0 (46) | 2.3 (2) | 0.6 (12) | 0.2 (38) | 71 |
| Round 1 | 5.3 (3) | 0.5 (51) | 2.5 (11) | 1.9 (6) | 0.4 (58) | 142 |
| Round 2 | 6.4 (4) | -0.2 (88) | 4.4 (1) | 0.0 (72) | 2.2 (20) | 139 |
| Round 3 | 0.1 (39) | 0.4 (30) | 2.4 (5) | 0.6 (17) | -3.2 (69) | 71 |
| Round 4 | 0.5 (33) | -0.6 (55) | -0.1 (42) | -0.1 (41) | 1.4 (17) | 71 |
Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top ten finishers at the Honda Classic for all four rounds:
| Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) | |||||
| Golfer | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt |
| Padraig Harrington | 3.1 (1) | 0.0 (46) | 2.3 (2) | 0.6 (12) | 0.2 (38) |
| Daniel Berger | 3.1 (2) | 0.9 (5) | 2.6 (1) | -0.5 (64) | 0.1 (39) |
| Ian Poulter | 2.8 (T3) | -0.2 (53) | 1.8 (5) | 0.3 (27) | 0.9 (13) |
| Paul Casey | 2.8 (T3) | 0.1 (41) | 2.2 (4) | -0.2 (53) | 0.7 (16) |
| Russell Knox | 2.8 (T3) | 1.2 (2) | 0.9 (20) | 0.5 (18) | 0.3 (32) |
| Jamie Donaldson | 2.6 (6) | 0.5 (23) | 0.3 (42) | 0.3 (30) | 1.5 (5) |
| Jim Herman | 2.3 (T7) | 0.6 (15) | 1.7 (6) | 0.0 (42) | 0.1 (44) |
| Luke Donald | 2.3 (T7) | -0.6 (63) | 1.5 (10) | 0.5 (21) | 1.1 (9) |
| Jeff Overton | 2.3 (T7) | 0.5 (20) | 1.5 (9) | 0.1 (40) | 0.3 (34) |
| Patrick Reed | 2.3 (T7) | 0.3 (29) | 0.0 (47) | 1.2 (3) | 0.7 (18) |
| Top 10 average | 2.7 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| Fraction of total | 100% | 12% | 56% | 10% | 22% |
Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top ten finishers at the Honda Classic in the final round:
| Strokes gained final round (ranks in parentheses) | |||||
| Player | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt |
| Padraig Harrington | 0.5 (33) | -0.6 (55) | -0.1 (42) | -0.1 (41) | 1.4 (17) |
| Daniel Berger | 6.5 (2) | 0.7 (22) | 3.9 (1) | 0.8 (14) | 1.1 (19) |
| Ian Poulter | -3.5 (64) | -2.7 (69) | -3.3 (68) | 0.3 (26) | 2.2 (11) |
| Paul Casey | 2.5 (12) | -0.1 (46) | 0.5 (31) | 0.2 (29) | 1.9 (12) |
| Russell Knox | 2.5 (15) | 0.6 (24) | 2.9 (5) | 0.3 (27) | -1.3 (55) |
| Jamie Donaldson | 4.5 (5) | 0.7 (18) | 0.7 (28) | 0.5 (24) | 2.6 (8) |
| Jim Herman | 1.5 (16) | 0.9 (14) | 1.5 (18) | -0.4 (52) | -0.5 (40) |
| Luke Donald | 3.5 (7) | 0.6 (25) | 2.4 (8) | 0.7 (16) | -0.2 (34) |
| Jeff Overton | 1.5 (20) | 0.3 (32) | 1.5 (17) | -0.2 (42) | -0.2 (32) |
| Patrick Reed | -2.5 (58) | -0.3 (49) | -3.1 (66) | 2.1 (2) | -1.2 (54) |
This post appeared originally on pgatour.com here
A very brief explanation of strokes gained: Strokes gained is a measure of the quality of a golf shot. A shot with positive strokes gained indicates a better-than-average shot for a PGA TOUR pro. For example, suppose on a difficult par-4 that the PGA TOUR average score is 4.2. An average drive for a PGA TOUR player would reduce the average strokes to hole out by one, from 4.2 to 3.2. If a player hit a long drive into the fairway where the PGA TOUR average strokes to hole out is 2.9, then the shot gained 0.3 strokes compared to the PGA TOUR average. If a player hit a short drive into the rough where the PGA TOUR average strokes to hole out is 3.4, then the shot lost 0.2 strokes compared to the PGA TOUR average. Strokes gained from all shots are accumulated and grouped into convenient categories to measure the performance of players in a round, tournament, or season. For example, the gain from all tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes is strokes gained driving measure. The gain from all shots starting outside 100 yards from the hole, excluding tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes, is strokes gained from approach shots.