Strokes gained at the Shell Houston Open: J.B. Holmes wins in a playoff

J.B. Holmes fired a final round 64 and then bested Jordan Spieth and Johnson Wagner in a playoff to win the Shell Houston Open. Holmes had two second place finishes and one other top ten in his previous five tournaments. This was the fourth PGA TOUR victory for Holmes and his second win in two years.

Holmes was asked whether his final round was his best ever, to which he replied, “No, not even the best round of golf I had this year. 62 at Miami was by far the best round ever.”   Holmes was right. His first round 62 at World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship beat the field by an astounding 11.4 strokes. His final round 64 at the Shell Houston Open beat the field by 7.2 strokes as described here

Heading into the tournament, Holmes was ranked 154 in strokes gained putting, losing 0.4 strokes per round to the field with his putting. In his victory, Holmes was ranked 11 in strokes gained putting, and was ranked first in the final round, gaining 4.0 strokes with his putting. Holmes was ranked 6 in the tournament with his approach shots (shots starting outside 100 yards from the hole, except tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes). Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of Holmes’s play at the Shell Houston Open:

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) Rank
J.B. Holmes Total Drive Appr Short Putt out of
2015 Season 1.5 (10) 0.8 (3) 0.7 (12) 0.3 (43) -0.2 (136) 177
Shell Houston Open 3.0 (1) 0.7 (12) 1.1 (6) 0.1 (34) 1.0 (11) 71
Round 1 6.0 (2) 2.3 (4) -0.2 (84) 2.5 (4) 1.4 (32) 144
Round 2 0.1 (68) 0.6 (43) 0.6 (50) -0.3 (88) -0.9 (102) 142
Round 3 -1.2 (47) -0.9 (54) 0.2 (31) -0.2 (40) -0.4 (44) 71
Round 4 7.2 (1) 0.9 (23) 3.9 (1) -1.6 (66) 4.0 (1) 71

Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top ten finishers at the Shell Houston Open:

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)
Golfer Total Drive Appr Short Putt
J.B. Holmes 3.0 (1) 0.7 (12) 1.1 (6) 0.1 (34) 1.0 (11)
Johnson Wagner 3.0 (T2) 0.4 (23) 1.2 (4) -0.4 (59) 1.8 (2)
Jordan Spieth 3.0 (T2) 1.2 (3) 0.8 (17) 0.8 (11) 0.3 (37)
Russell Henley 2.5 (4) 1.3 (2) 1.0 (7) -0.2 (51) 0.5 (30)
Charles Howell III 2.3 (T5) 0.3 (30) 0.9 (8) 0.2 (33) 0.8 (19)
Brendon de Jonge 2.3 (T5) 0.6 (18) 0.9 (10) -0.4 (60) 1.1 (10)
Keegan Bradley 2.3 (T5) 1.7 (1) 0.1 (43) 0.3 (27) 0.2 (40)
Cameron Tringale 2.3 (T5) -0.7 (66) -0.2 (54) 0.8 (9) 2.4 (1)
Paul Casey 2.0 (9) 1.2 (4) 0.7 (19) -0.1 (46) 0.2 (41)
Scott Piercy 1.8 (10) 0.2 (35) 0.7 (20) 0.7 (12) 0.1 (46)
Top 10 average 2.4 0.7 0.7 0.2 0.9
Fraction of total 100% 28% 29% 8% 35%

Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the final round for the top ten finishers at the Shell Houston Open:

Strokes gained in the final round (ranks in parentheses)
Player Total Drive Appr Short Putt
J.B. Holmes 7.2 (1) 0.9 (23) 3.9 (1) -1.6 (66) 4.0 (1)
Johnson Wagner 2.2 (13) 0.4 (35) 1.0 (16) -0.2 (40) 1.0 (17)
Jordan Spieth 1.2 (25) 1.1 (19) -0.1 (43) 0.0 (34) 0.2 (29)
Russell Henley 2.2 (16) 1.8 (2) 2.0 (4) -0.9 (60) -0.6 (46)
Charles Howell III 1.2 (23) 0.6 (29) 0.3 (33) -0.2 (42) 0.5 (24)
Brendon de Jonge 4.2 (4) 1.4 (12) -0.6 (51) 1.0 (15) 2.6 (6)
Keegan Bradley 2.2 (15) 0.7 (27) -0.6 (52) 1.3 (6) 0.9 (20)
Cameron Tringale 3.2 (9) -1.5 (59) 1.6 (5) 0.3 (26) 2.8 (3)
Paul Casey 0.2 (30) 1.3 (14) -0.1 (42) -0.3 (45) -0.7 (47)
Scott Piercy -2.8 (59) -1.5 (58) -0.4 (49) 0.5 (24) -1.3 (58)

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.

 

 

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