Strokes gained at the Sony Open: Walker wins by a record nine strokes

Jimmy Walker won the Sony Open by a record nine strokes for his fourth win in his last 32 starts. With his hot play, which included a loss in a playoff last week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Walker has risen to number 13 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Walker opened with a pair of 66s which gained 5.8 strokes on the field and put him in a tie for eighth place. In the weekend he shot 62-63 to gain an additional 13.4 strokes on the field.

In the tournament Walker ranked first in strokes gained putting, gaining 2.6 strokes per round on the field. He also ranked first in shots starting outside 100 yards from the hole, gaining 2.3 strokes per round on the field. Walker said, “[It’s] been a great, crazy week.  Just doesn’t happen very often.”

Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the top eleven finishers at the Sony Open in four categories: driving (tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes), approach shots (shots starting outside 100 yards from the hole, excluding drives), short game shots (shots starting inside 100 yards from the hole, excluding putts) and putting:

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)
Golfer Total Drive Appr Short Putt
Jimmy Walker 4.8 (1) 1.2 (2) 1.1 (7) -0.1 (45) 2.6 (1)
Scott Piercy 2.6 (2) 0.3 (26) 1.0 (10) -0.2 (50) 1.4 (10)
Matt Kuchar 2.3 (T3) 0.2 (33) 0.5 (29) 0.0 (41) 1.6 (9)
Gary Woodland 2.3 (T3) 0.8 (7) 0.9 (12) 0.0 (40) 0.6 (28)
Harris English 2.3 (T3) 0.7 (9) 0.8 (16) 0.2 (29) 0.6 (27)
Justin Thomas 2.1 (T6) 0.3 (25) 0.4 (33) 0.2 (32) 1.2 (14)
Jerry Kelly 2.1 (T6) 0.3 (28) 0.6 (27) 0.1 (37) 1.2 (17)
Shawn Stefani 2.1 (T6) 0.7 (8) 0.2 (37) 1.0 (4) 0.0 (46)
Max Homa 2.1 (T6) -0.2 (58) 0.3 (35) 0.6 (15) 1.4 (12)
Zac Blair 2.1 (T6) 0.3 (27) 0.4 (31) 0.8 (8) 0.5 (31)
Rory Sabbatini 2.1 (T6) 0.0 (44) 0.3 (36) 1.2 (3) 0.6 (29)
Top 11 average 2.4 0.4 0.6 0.4 1.0
Fraction of total 100% 18% 25% 15% 43%

Here’s a round-by-round strokes gained breakdown of Walker’s play in the tournament:

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses) Rank
Jimmy Walker Total Drive Appr Short Putt out of
Sony Open in Hawaii 4.8 (1) 1.2 (2) 1.1 (7) -0.1 (45) 2.6 (1) 71
Round 4 6.5 (T1) 2.2 (1) 0.2 (30) 1.1 (10) 3.0 (4) 70
Round 3 6.9 (1) -0.3 (59) 2.2 (7) 0.1 (42) 4.8 (1) 85
Round 2 2.3 (21) 1.2 (18) 1.6 (25) -0.6 (103) 0.1 (66) 143
Round 1 3.5 (12) 1.6 (5) 0.4 (59) -0.8 (117) 2.3 (14) 144

Walker entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, a three-shot edge on Brian Harman and Troy Merritt, and a four-shot edge over Tim Clark and Justin Thomas. None of these players broke 70 in the final round. Walker’s final round 63 was matched by Rory Sabbatini, who moved from a tie for 49th place to a tie for sixth. Here’s a strokes gained breakdown of the eight best fourth rounds at the Sony Open:

 

  Strokes gained final round (ranks in parentheses)
Golfer Total Drive Appr Short Putt
Jimmy Walker 6.5 (T1) 2.2 (1) 0.2 (30) 1.1 (10) 3.0 (4)
Rory Sabbatini 6.5 (T1) -1.0 (59) 0.4 (27) 4.3 (2) 2.8 (5)
Chris Kirk 5.5 (3) 0.6 (20) 4.7 (1) 0.1 (30) 0.1 (33)
Pat Perez 4.5 (4) 1.5 (3) 1.4 (11) 0.3 (26) 1.3 (16)
Stuart Appleby 3.5 (T5) 0.4 (25) 0.1 (33) 0.9 (13) 2.0 (8)
Jerry Kelly 3.5 (T5) 0.3 (32) 0.7 (22) -0.9 (58) 3.4 (1)
Scott Piercy 3.5 (T5) 1.4 (4) 0.3 (29) 0.2 (28) 1.6 (11)
Colt Knost 3.5 (T5) 1.2 (7) 0.1 (31) -0.8 (56) 3.1 (3)
Top 8 average 4.7 0.8 1.0 0.7 2.2
Fraction of total 100% 18% 22% 14% 46%

 

Walker’s victories are due in large part to his putting. In his wins, he gained nearly twice as many strokes with his putting compared to all PGA TOUR winners in 2014. This table gives a strokes gained breakdown of three of Walker’s wins (his other victory at the 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am only had two rounds of ShotLink data):

 

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)
Jimmy Walker Total Drive Appr Short Putt
Sony Open in Hawaii – 2015 4.8 (1) 1.2 (2) 1.1 (7) -0.1 (45) 2.6 (1)
Sony Open in Hawaii – 2014 3.4 (1) 1.1 (3) 0.8 (19) 0.1 (38) 1.4 (8)
Frys.com Open – 2013 3.4 (1) -0.1 (52) 0.1 (41) 0.3 (22) 3.1 (1)
Jimmy Walker average 3.9 0.7 0.7 0.1 2.3
Fraction of total 100% 18% 18% 3% 61%
Average of 2014 winners 3.5 0.6 1.0 0.6 1.2
Fraction of total 100% 18% 29% 18% 35%

 

A shorter version of 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.

2 thoughts on “Strokes gained at the Sony Open: Walker wins by a record nine strokes

  1. Andrew L

    Mark, love your week keep em coming!

    Where can I find this info during a tournament?

    Right now pgatour.com only shows strokes gained putting (I’d like to see tee-to-green as well), and it only shows it as a cumulative number for the entire tournament. I can’t tell whether a guy putted well in the 4th rd unless I record the change on my own after each day.

    Reply
    1. MarkB Post author

      Dear Andrew, Thanks for the comment and question. Regarding the info during a tournament, I believe only the cumulative numbers are available, as you wrote. I will pass along your request to them. -Mark

      Reply

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