Strokes Gained at the TOUR Championship: Spieth wins fifth of the season

Jordan Spieth won the TOUR Championship, his fifth win of the season, on the strength of his putting. Spieth gained 2.6 strokes per round on the field, with 66 percent of the gain (1.7 strokes per round) attributed to his field-leading putting. He lost 0.5 strokes per round to the field with his approach shots. “I didn’t feel comfortable striking the ball whatsoever, today or this week. It was amazing that we competed with the way I felt over the ball,” Spieth said after the tournament.

While putting was the key for Spieth this week, he finished the season with almost identical gains of 0.6 strokes per round from his driving, approach shots, short game and putting. Here are Spieth’s season-long strokes gained results and a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of his play at the TOUR Championship:

  Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) Rank
Jordan Spieth Total Drive Appr Short Putt out of
2015 Season 2.5 (4) 0.6 (14) 0.6 (14) 0.6 (3) 0.6 (9) 199
TOUR Championship 2.6 (1) 0.6 (4) -0.5 (21) 0.8 (4) 1.7 (1) 28
Round 1 1.7 (7) 0.1 (15) 0.2 (14) 0.3 (14) 1.1 (9) 28
Round 2 5.6 (1) 0.8 (8) -0.7 (21) 2.4 (1) 3.1 (1) 28
Round 3 2.8 (4) 0.9 (2) -0.1 (16) 0.7 (8) 1.2 (4) 28
Round 4 0.4 (12) 0.7 (4) -1.4 (24) -0.4 (19) 1.5 (8) 28

Henrik Stenson finished in a tie for second place, his third second in the four playoff events. Stenson began the day one stroke behind Spieth, but he lost ground in the final round with his approach shots (rank 27 of 28) and his putting (rank 24 of 28). Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of Stenson’s play at the TOUR Championship:

  Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) Rank
Henrik Stenson Total Drive Appr Short Putt out of
2015 Season 2.7 (1) 0.5 (20) 1.5 (1) 0.2 (55) 0.5 (14) 199
TOUR Championship 1.6 (2) 0.2 (13) 1.2 (2) 0.0 (15) 0.2 (11) 28
Round 1 6.7 (1) 0.6 (8) 2.4 (3) 0.6 (10) 3.2 (2) 28
Round 2 3.6 (2) -0.3 (18) 3.1 (1) 0.2 (14) 0.6 (10) 28
Round 3 -1.2 (21) 0.1 (13) 0.9 (9) -1.1 (24) -1.2 (24) 28
Round 4 -2.6 (24) 0.5 (11) -1.5 (27) 0.4 (13) -1.9 (24) 28

Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top eleven finishers at the TOUR Championship:

  Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)
Golfer Total Drive Appr Short Putt
Jordan Spieth 2.6 (1) 0.6 (4) -0.5 (21) 0.8 (4) 1.7 (1)
Henrik Stenson 1.6 (T2) 0.2 (13) 1.2 (2) 0.0 (15) 0.2 (11)
Justin Rose 1.6 (T2) 0.3 (12) 1.0 (3) 1.0 (3) -0.6 (24)
Danny Lee 1.6 (T2) -0.3 (20) 0.7 (6) 0.4 (10) 0.8 (5)
Bubba Watson 1.4 (T5) 0.6 (5) 0.3 (12) -0.2 (17) 0.6 (9)
Dustin Johnson 1.4 (T5) 0.9 (1) -0.1 (17) 0.6 (7) 0.0 (15)
Paul Casey 1.4 (T5) 0.7 (3) 0.4 (11) -0.5 (22) 0.9 (4)
Zach Johnson 1.1 (T8) 0.0 (15) 1.7 (1) -0.6 (23) 0.0 (13)
J.B. Holmes 1.1 (T8) 0.4 (7) -0.8 (23) 1.4 (1) 0.1 (12)
Matt Kuchar 0.9 (T10) -0.3 (18) 0.1 (15) 0.3 (13) 0.7 (8)
Jason Day 0.9 (T10) 0.3 (10) 0.3 (14) 0.4 (9) -0.1 (16)
Top 11 average 1.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4
Fraction of total 100% 22% 28% 23% 27%

Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the final round for the top eleven finishers at the TOUR Championship:

  Strokes gained in the final round (ranks in parentheses)
Player Total Drive Appr Short Putt
Jordan Spieth 0.4 (12) 0.7 (4) -1.4 (24) -0.4 (19) 1.5 (8)
Henrik Stenson -2.6 (24) 0.5 (11) -1.5 (27) 0.4 (13) -1.9 (24)
Justin Rose 3.4 (4) -1.2 (24) 3.3 (1) 0.8 (9) 0.4 (12)
Danny Lee 4.4 (2) 0.3 (14) 0.8 (8) -0.3 (18) 3.6 (1)
Bubba Watson 2.4 (7) 1.4 (2) 0.2 (12) -0.9 (22) 1.7 (7)
Dustin Johnson 5.4 (1) 2.0 (1) -0.3 (17) 1.4 (6) 2.3 (4)
Paul Casey -0.6 (16) -0.6 (20) 1.8 (4) -0.5 (20) -1.3 (19)
Zach Johnson -0.6 (21) -0.6 (21) 2.1 (3) -0.2 (15) -1.9 (23)
J.B. Holmes 0.4 (10) 0.4 (12) -1.2 (22) 1.5 (3) -0.4 (16)
Matt Kuchar 1.4 (8) -1.3 (25) -1.0 (21) 0.9 (7) 2.8 (3)
Jason Day 1.4 (9) 0.5 (9) 1.2 (5) 0.4 (12) -0.8 (18)

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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