With that, let’s look at the most remarkable statistical feats of the 2019-’20 season, from the impressive to the heartbreaking to the weird.

1. Jon Rahm wins the strokes-gained crown in a down year

Jon Rahm’s average strokes gained against the field, in 57 measured rounds, was a very solid 1.823, nosing ahead of Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson and Bryson DeChambeau. But what’s interesting about Rahm’s total is that it’s the lowest winning number since Steve Stricker was No. 1 in 2010 with 1.818. Only twice in the last 10 years has the strokes gained/total leader won with a number lower than 2 (the average for the last 10 winners, including Rahm, is 2.22). It’s hard to know exactly why this happened; perhaps the tournaments that were cancelled due to COVID-19 trended a bit easier. In any case, it’s Rahm’s first overall SG crown, and it adds a subtle reason his fellow tour pros might consider him for PGA Tour Player of the Year.

• • •

2. Bud Cauley makes the “2/3” sand-save club

It’s one of the oddities about sports that for certain feats, there are seemingly arbitrary numbers that turn out to be useful cutoffs for separating the good and the great—like, for instance, a .300 batting average. For sand saves, it turns out that anyone who averages better than 66.67 percent, i.e. someone who makes better than two out of every three sand saves, has attained an elusive level of excellence. That’s what Bud Cauley accomplished in 2020, going 69/103 from the sand for a 66.99-percent rate. Before him, the list of those who had beaten the “2/3” mark this millennium is short: Rickie Fowler (2017), K.J. Choi (2013), Tim Clark (2007), Franklin Langham (2001) and Fred Couples (2000).

Matt Sullivan

• • •

3. Martin Trainer and the year of the hellish approach

Since the PGA Tour started keeping SG/approach stats in 2004, no player has ever averaged more than two strokes lost (as in -2) per round for a whole season. Until 2020, that is. Martin Trainer, who was dead last on the 2019 list, too, lost 82.502 strokes to the field in 39 measured rounds, for an abysmal -2.115 average. It’s a big reason why he missed the cut in 19 of 21 starts, and it makes his 2019 win at the Puerto Rico Open look even more anomalous. This is a year he’ll be eager to forget, but as Brendon Todd has shown us, twice, you’re never truly dead in the game of golf.

• • •

4. Bryson DeChambeau hits the sixth-longest putt since 2003

DeChambeau made a ton of news this year, but not much of it for his putting. Still, on the 18th hole Saturday in the PGA Championship, he did this:

Bryson DeChambeau…FROM 95 FEET?!?! pic.twitter.com/MQB1DgneMp

— Golf on CBS (@GolfonCBS) August 8, 2020

The PGA Tour has longest-putt stats going back to 2003, and only five people have made a longer putt than DeChambeau’s 95 feet, five inches. The longest was Craig Barlow at the Buick Open in 2008, and it remains tragic to me that no footage of this exists. For what it’s worth, Bryson missed the top five by two inches—Nick Watney made a 95 foot, seven incher in 2017.

• • •

5. Jason Kokrak is the four-foot prince of the millennium

Every year, there are a group of players who make every single putt from three feet—this year, there were 20, including Phil Mickelson, who went 419-for-419—but once you move back to four feet, perfection is a tantalizing impossibility. Every year since 2003, when Shotlink distances were first measured, no player has made every four-foot putt in a season. The top guys always come close, missing just one or two, but nobody runs the table. This season, Jason Kokrak led all comers, hitting 101 of 102 four-footers, for a 99.02 percentage. As it turns out, that’s the second-best number ever, trailing only Jim Furyk’s 99.12 (113-for-114) from 2011. This is one spot where the COVID stoppage may have kept him from all-time glory—a few more putts, and he would have nudged ahead of Furyk.

• • •

Michael Reaves

6. Beau Hossler is the three-putt avoidance prince of the millennium

This season, Hossler three-putted just 16 times over 1,206 total holes, for a 1.33 percent three-putt rate. Like Kokrak and his four-footers, that was nearly enough to secure the best rate of the 2000s. And like Kokrak, he only fell short of a 2011 performance, in this case Luke Donald and his 15 three-putts in the exact same number of holes. Just one fewer three-putt, and Hossler would have shared the crown.

• • •

7. Jim Furyk tops the GIR list at age 50

Time has clearly not taken hampered Furyk’s maddening consistency, as he proved this season with his tour-leading 74.22 percent greens-in-regulation rate. To find a better percentage, you have to go back to 2001, when Tom Lehman averaged 74.53 percent. Now, going back to sample size, we have to note that Furyk only had 39 rounds, which is about half as many attempts as the typically leader in this category would post. Then again, when you’re twice the age of some of your competitors, maybe you should be allowed to make your point in half the time.

Tom Pennington

• • •

8. Bryson DeChambeau joins an elite driving group

The big man again! Since 2004, when the PGA Tour first began keeping strokes-gained stats, there have been only four men who have averaged more than one stroke gained against the field off the tee for a full season. Three of them are obvious: Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson. The fourth is Sergio Garcia, who squeaked in with a 1.003 SG/off-the-tee number in 2005. This year, Bryson DeChambeau became the fifth in the +1 Drivers Club, with 64.417 strokes gained over 62 measured rounds, for an average of 1.039 per round. Clearly, at least off the tee, his bulking routine paid dividends. Interestingly, Cam Champ came up just shy, with an average of .999.

• • •

9. Webb Simpson wins the scoring average title

In beating Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas for the best scoring average for the season, Webb Simpson did so by dipping (albeit just barely) into 68 territory with a 68.978 average through 52 rounds. That puts him in pretty exclusive company. In the last decade, only Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Sergio Garcia, and Jordan Spieth have maintained a sub-69 average in a single season. McIlroy had the lowest average in 2014, and if you’re wondering if anyone has ever beaten 68, the answer is yes—it’s Tiger, of course, in 2000 (67.749) and 2007 (67.794).

Christian Petersen

• • •

10. Denny McCarthy repeats as SG/putting champ, puts up second-best mark ever

As with the other strokes-gained stats we’ve looked at so far, the PGA Tour’s SG/putting rankings only go back to 2004. In that time, only one man has averaged better than one stroke gained against the field for a full season, and that was Jason Day in 2016. This year, Denny McCarthy got awfully close, averaging .988 per round in another brilliant season, second all-time. He also became just the third repeat winner since the stat was kept, joining Luke Donald (2009-2011) and Ben Crane (2005-2006). Interestingly, those gaudy numbers from McCarthy were only good for four top-10 finishes this season, highlighting his struggles elsewhere. For two years, McCarthy has been the tour’s equivalent of a one-trick pony, but he’s very good at that one trick.

The post 10 remarkable season-ending stats from a strange year on the PGA Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
CROMWELL, Conn. — Two more players have withdrawn from the Travelers Championship due to COVID-19 issues.

Denny McCarthy and Bud Cauley reported symptoms to the PGA Tour on Friday morning, sources told Golf Digest. Per tour protocols, reporting symptoms requires the administration of further COVID-19 testing. McCarthy confirmed in a statement that he had tested positive.

“I was feeling pretty tired and sore after the round yesterday but didn’t think much of it because I had practiced a lot Monday to Wednesday,” McCarthy said. “Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with additional aches and soreness and sensed something was off. I felt like the only thing to do was get tested at that point before I went to the course.”

Cauley did not test positive, but stated he was withdrawing out of caution.

“I’m very thankful I have tested negative but have decided to withdraw out of an abundance of caution for my peers and everyone involved with the tournament,” Cauley said.

McCarthy and Cauley played together in the first round of the Travelers on Thursday. McCarthy had shot a three-under 67 in the opening round while Cauley turned in a one-under 69. According to health officials, symptoms tend to appear two to 14 days after exposure, so it’s unlikely the pair’s round together was the source of infection. Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says that the golf course is also believed to be an unlikely source of transmission.

The third member of the group, Matt Wallace, remains in the tournament, and will play on Friday at TPC River Highlands as a single.

McCarthy and Cauley are the sixth and seventh players to withdraw this week from the Travelers with coronavirus-related concerns. Cameron Champ tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, while Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell bowed out after their caddies contracted the virus. Webb Simpson withdrew after one of his family members tested COVID-19 positive, and Chase Koepka withdrew due to an “abundance of caution.” Last week, Nick Watney became the first player to test COVID-19 positive in the tour’s return from the pandemic.

In a statement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said McCarthy has the full support of the tour.

“I know I speak for the entire tour membership in thanking him for doing the right thing in requesting an additional test before heading to the golf course today,” Monahan said. “What Denny, Bud and others are demonstrating is exactly what we asked of everyone—continue to do your part in taking this virus seriously and keeping not only your own health as a priority, but also that of your fellow competitors and those you may come in contact with. Today’s update again demonstrates our rigorous and quick testing, contact tracing capabilities and overall healthy and safety protocols. We will continue to liaise directly with local and state government and health officials this week and throughout our return to golf.”

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By Alex Myers
Less than three days after “the scariest night” of his life, Bud Cauley says he’s “thankful to be alive.”

The PGA Tour pro sustained several serious injuries in a Friday evening car accident after the second round of the Memorial Tournament, but shared he is recovering after undergoing surgery in an Instagram post Monday morning.

A post shared by budcauley (@budcauley) on Jun 4, 2018 at 6:27am PDT

After missing the cut at the Memorial, Cauley was supposed to play in a Monday U.S. Open sectional qualifier. According to his management firm, IMG, Cauley was hospitalized with a collapsed lung, five broken ribs, and a fractured lower leg.

Cauley’s father, Bill, told Golf Digest on Sunday his son was “doing great” following a surgery to put plates on his broken ribs. He is expected to be in the hospital for another few days and has been told he can’t fly for a couple weeks because of the collapsed lung.

Cauley’s good friend and former teammate at Alabama, Justin Thomas, visited Cauley in the hospital over the weekend.

“It calmed me a lot after seeing him,” the World No. 1 said. “I couldn’t hit a shot, couldn’t play a hole without thinking about him. And my buddy, Whis. . . . It sucks when your best friend’s in a serious car accident and there’s nothing you can do and nothing he can do.”

Cauley is one of just a handful of players including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to earn his PGA Tour card by playing on sponsor’s exemptions after turning pro. In his sixth full season on the PGA Tour, Cauley has two top 10s and is 84th in the FedEx Cup standings. We wish him a speedy recovery.

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By Sam Weinman

Bud Cauley sustained several serious injuries in a car accident Friday night following the second round of the Memorial Tournament, as first reported by Golf Channel.

IMG, Cauley’s management firm, reported the golfer was hospitalized with a collapsed lung, five broken ribs and a fractured lower left leg. He had missed the cut in Memorial with scores of 77 and 76 and was supposed to play in a U.S. Open qualifier on Monday, but has since withdrawn.

Cauley’s former teammate at Alabama, Justin Thomas, offered a heartfelt tribute to his friend. The two were partners in this year’s Zurich Classic.

Not many people I love more in this world than my guy BC. Was a rough nights sleep last night. Glad to see and hear he’s been doing better. Prayers are needed and all we can do is hope for the best! Get well soon, homi ?? https://t.co/1BN088Wg5s

— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 3, 2018

After his final round at the Memorial on Sunday, Thomas told reporters that he got a call at 11:30 p.m. Friday night from the wife of another person in the accident, James Whis. (Thomas is staying with Whis while playing in Dublin, Ohio.) Thomas said he was up late into the night trying to find out details of the accident and what kind of shape his friends were in.

“[Bud] was doing good yesterday,” said Thomas, who saw both Cauley and Whis in the hospital on Saturday. “It calmed me a lot after seeing him. I couldn’t hit a shot, couldn’t play a hole without thinking about him. And my buddy, Whis. … It sucks when your best friend’s in a serious car accident and there’s nothing you can do and nothing he can do.”

A total of four people were in the car, according to Thomas; the other two he said were friends of Whis.

Cauley, 28, had been making steady progress this season after working his way back from a shoulder injury that cost him the entire 2015 season, making cuts in 11 of 16 events.

This is the second time this season a PGA Tour player has been involved in a major car accident. In February, Bill Haas was a passenger in an accident in which the driver, Mark Gibello, was killed. Haas avoided serious injury and has recently returned to competition.

UPDATED, 6:50 p.m. — Cauley had surgery on Sunday to have plates put on several of his broken ribs, his father, Bill, told Golf Digest. He said that Bud was “doing great” but would likely be in the hospital for another few days for recovery. Bud also has been told not to fly for a couple of weeks because of his collapsed lung.

The post UPDATED: Bud Cauley sustains serious injuries in a car accident appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But here are a few other things you need to know about the 24-year-old rising star, and the favourite for the 2017 PGA Tour Player of the Year:

Getty Images

Justin Thomas has been dreaming of making it on the PGA Tour since attending, at age 7, Tiger Woods’ win in the 2000 PGA at Valhalla.

JT has a VHS tape of the tournament, which he estimates he’s watched 50 times, motivating the Louisville native to put in the work to one day make it to the same stage.

Add Justin’s win at the PGA Championship to the long line of champions with strong PGA of America ties.

Justin grew up in Kentucky, playing a lot of golf with his father, Mike, being the club pro at Harmony Landing outside Louisville. And Justin’s grandpa, Paul, was also a club pro, serving in Zanesville, Ohio. Paul was a good enough player to play in the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

The 2017 PGA Championship winner would spend most days in the summer picking the range and hitting shots as his father worked.

At the end of the day, he and his dad would play for dollars as a kid after he was done picking the range, and it got competitive: “We would play for a dollar, and it was pretty heated out there. And I’m a pretty sore loser, so I did not handle it well when I lost and had to give up a dollar,” he said.

Sam Greenwood

Though he hasn’t been on a Ryder Cup team yet, Justin Thomas celebrated the 2008 victory at Valhalla with some VIP access.

One of Thomas’ favourite memories is high-fiving Phil Mickelson behind the 17th green when J.B. Holmes clinched the winning point for the U.S. team at Valhalla. With his father being on the PGA of America board that week, Thomas got to hang out with all the players that week.

Getty Images

Thomas’ win at Quail Hollow might’ve clinched the 2017 Player of the Year title.

This season was already stellar — with three PGA Tour victories, including a 59 in his win at the Sony Open, and a (then) record-tying 63 at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. The PGA Championship victory gives him the most wins out of all major winners this year.

Photo by Walter Iooss Jr.

At 145 pounds (66kg), Justin Thomas is one of the biggest hitters on tour, pound for pound.

It’s actually insane how far JT hits it, given his size. Thomas ranked first in driving distance at Quail Hollow (328 yards off the tee) and ranks seventh on the PGA Tour this year (310 yards, 10 yards more than the tour average).

He had one of the most impressive collegiate resumes in recent memory.

As a freshman at Alabama, Thomas won the Haskins Award as the nation’s top golfer in 2012. He turned pro after his sophomore year, in which the Crimson Tide won the 2013 NCAA Championship and earned his PGA Tour card after a strong 2014 on the Web.com Tour.

Thomas is roommates with fellow Alabama golfer and PGA Tour player Bud Cauley in Jupiter, Fla.

Their prize possession is a custom, crimson-colored pool table with a Bama logo. Along with so many other tour pros, Thomas and Cauley reside and practice in Jupiter, where they’re both members of Medalist G.C. and The Bear’s Club.

You may or may not have heard, but Justin is buddies with Jordan Spieth.

Since they competed at the Evian Junior Masters in France when they were 14 and 13 (above), they’ve been buddies. Thomas told Golf Digest in 2014: “I don’t think him and I really sit back and reflect on what we’ve accomplished too much, but I probably do more than Jordan does,” Thomas said. “And it’s pretty cool. It’s crazy to think where our careers are gonna end up and how long we’ll be competing on the same level.”

RELATED: My Shot: Justin Thomas goes deep on Alabama football, Nick Saban’s chipping, and putting games with Jordan Spieth

The Spring Break boys now have four major wins with Thomas’ win.

And victories in the final two majors of the year, with Spieth winning his third at The Open, and Thomas taking home the title at Quail Hollow. Spieth’s no longer the only #SB2K16/17 bro with a major win.

When you realize Christmas is only 2 days away…

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on Dec 23, 2016 at 8:12am PST

Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler made back-to-back holes-in-one at the 2016 Masters Par-3 Contest.

Paired with Spieth, the trio shared a moment they’ll never forget.

Thomas made sure his girlfriend, Jillian Wisniewski, was at Quail Hollow to see his first major win.

Though we usually don’t get too much inside info about his girl on social media, we found out Thomas didn’t want Jillian to miss his big win: “My girlfriend was supposed to fly out [of North Carolina] at about 7:00 and I was like, ‘You need to change your flight to later, because I don’t know, I just feel like I don’t want you to miss this, I feel like I’m going to get it done,” he said after.

@vokeywedges hooked me up with a few of my favorite (clean) rap lines for my fresh set.. Lovin em! Have to thank @wosellers for some help too

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on Feb 24, 2015 at 8:47am PST

You can always find cool stampings on Thomas’ wedges.

Usually, Thomas’ wedges are stamped with “RADAR,” describing his spot-on wedge play. But as seen above, he’ll mix in the occasional hip-hop lyric, such as these from 2015, with Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross and Drake songs.

The family is very tight-knit: Justin’s mom regularly travels with him on tour—even hanging with him and his friends and going out to dinner with them.

During Thomas’ rookie season, his mom, Jani, would regularly go out to dinner with Thomas’ friends at night. And if you’re at a tour event in which Thomas is playing, you can expect to see her around the grounds each week.

Stuart Franklin

–His father, Mike, has a frame of the golf balls from special moments in Justin’s career.

Moments from this year include Thomas’ record-tying 63 in the third round at Erin Hills, and the 59 at the Sony Open. We’re quite confident at least one ball from Quail Hollow (above) will make it to the display.

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