Justin Rose fired a closing 66 to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, his sixth victory in six years. The victory came a week after a tie for second at the Masters.
When asked what he part of the victory he was most proud of, Rose said, “making a couple of key putts down the stretch.” Rose sunk a 10-footer for birdie on the 17th hole and a 14-footer for birdie on the final hole. Together those two putts gained 1.3 strokes on the field.
Rose shot a tournament record 22 under par in his victory, but the course gave up a ton of birdies to the field. The net result is that Rose beat the field by a fairly typical 3.3 strokes per round. His total gain against the field breaks down this way: driving 33 percent, approach shots 23 percent, short game 7 percent, and putting 37 percent. Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of Rose’s play at the Zurich Classic:
| Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) | Rank | |||||
| Justin Rose | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt | out of |
| 2015 Season | 0.7 (50) | 0.4 (39) | 0.3 (52) | 0.1 (87) | -0.1 (123) | 190 |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | 3.3 (1) | 1.1 (3) | 0.7 (24) | 0.2 (29) | 1.2 (11) | 71 |
| Round 1 | 1.9 (39) | 1.1 (12) | -0.7 (107) | 0.6 (44) | 0.9 (44) | 156 |
| Round 2 | 3.6 (12) | 0.7 (34) | 1.9 (11) | 0.0 (69) | 1.0 (41) | 150 |
| Round 3 | 4.5 (3) | 1.5 (2) | 0.8 (22) | 0.0 (38) | 2.3 (7) | 71 |
| Round 4 | 3.1 (9) | 1.1 (10) | 1.0 (16) | 0.3 (25) | 0.7 (26) | 71 |
Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top eleven finishers at the Zurich Classic:
| Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) | |||||
| Golfer | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt |
| Justin Rose | 3.3 (1) | 1.1 (3) | 0.7 (25) | 0.2 (29) | 1.2 (11) |
| Cameron Tringale | 3.0 (2) | 0.2 (35) | 1.8 (2) | 0.9 (3) | 0.1 (42) |
| Boo Weekley | 2.8 (3) | 0.6 (13) | 0.6 (30) | 0.2 (33) | 1.4 (7) |
| Jason Day | 2.5 (T4) | 1.0 (5) | 0.3 (36) | 0.5 (19) | 0.7 (26) |
| Jim Herman | 2.5 (T4) | 0.7 (12) | 0.8 (24) | -0.3 (57) | 1.3 (8) |
| David Hearn | 2.3 (T6) | 0.5 (19) | 1.1 (13) | -0.2 (50) | 0.8 (18) |
| Daniel Berger | 2.3 (T6) | 0.8 (7) | 1.5 (4) | 0.4 (22) | -0.4 (59) |
| Chad Campbell | 2.0 (T8) | -0.1 (45) | -0.4 (58) | 0.7 (9) | 1.8 (4) |
| Chesson Hadley | 2.0 (T8) | 0.7 (11) | 0.8 (21) | -0.3 (59) | 0.8 (21) |
| Blayne Barber | 2.0 (T8) | 0.8 (10) | -0.8 (69) | 0.3 (24) | 1.8 (5) |
| Whee Kim | 2.0 (T8) | -0.7 (63) | 0.8 (20) | 0.6 (15) | 1.2 (9) |
| Top 11 average | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Fraction of total | 100% | 21% | 27% | 11% | 40% |
Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the final round for the top eleven finishers at the Zurich Classic:
| Strokes gained in the final round (ranks in parentheses) | |||||
| Player | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt |
| Justin Rose | 3.1 (9) | 1.1 (10) | 1.0 (16) | 0.3 (25) | 0.7 (26) |
| Cameron Tringale | 4.1 (6) | 1.0 (14) | 1.0 (15) | 1.6 (5) | 0.5 (30) |
| Boo Weekley | 4.1 (5) | 0.1 (35) | -0.2 (39) | 1.2 (11) | 3.0 (4) |
| Jason Day | 0.1 (30) | 1.3 (7) | -1.1 (56) | 0.0 (29) | -0.1 (39) |
| Jim Herman | 4.1 (7) | 0.7 (18) | 1.1 (14) | -0.7 (55) | 3.0 (3) |
| David Hearn | 1.1 (21) | 1.0 (13) | 0.9 (21) | -0.3 (40) | -0.5 (43) |
| Daniel Berger | 0.1 (42) | 1.0 (11) | 0.0 (36) | -0.3 (37) | -0.7 (48) |
| Chad Campbell | 1.1 (27) | -0.5 (54) | -0.8 (46) | 0.9 (17) | 1.5 (14) |
| Chesson Hadley | 3.1 (14) | 1.3 (8) | 0.5 (30) | -0.8 (57) | 2.0 (8) |
| Blayne Barber | -0.9 (47) | 0.1 (34) | -1.1 (54) | 0.3 (26) | -0.2 (41) |
| Whee Kim | 5.1 (1) | -0.2 (47) | -1.2 (57) | 3.2 (1) | 3.3 (2) |
Cameron Tringale came up just short in his quest for his first PGA Tour victory. Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of Tringale’s play at the Zurich Classic:
| Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) | Rank | |||||
| Cameron Tringale | Total | Drive | Appr | Short | Putt | out of |
| 2015 Season | 0.7 (46) | 0.0 (106) | 0.0 (100) | 0.6 (7) | 0.1 (83) | 190 |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | 3.0 (2) | 0.2 (35) | 1.8 (2) | 0.9 (3) | 0.1 (42) | 71 |
| Round 1 | 1.9 (45) | 0.9 (29) | 1.6 (27) | 0.4 (56) | -1.0 (111) | 156 |
| Round 2 | 4.6 (7) | 0.5 (51) | 1.8 (12) | 1.2 (16) | 1.1 (39) | 150 |
| Round 3 | 1.5 (13) | -1.7 (66) | 3.0 (1) | 0.4 (23) | -0.2 (41) | 71 |
| Round 4 | 4.1 (6) | 1.0 (14) | 1.0 (15) | 1.6 (5) | 0.5 (30) | 71 |
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.