By Christopher Powers
By now, you’ve gotten the message. Tony Finau finishes in the top 10 a lot, and he doesn’t win, at least not since his lone PGA Tour victory at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. But no matter how many times you see the stat (you know the one), it’s still shocking:

Most top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events without a win since 2017:

Tony Finau, 37
Beyong Hun An, 16
Kevin Streelman, 16
Tommy Fleetwood, 16

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) February 22, 2021

Staggering and depressing. But not as depressing as another top-10 related stat that Justin Ray shared in his “10 notes to know” blog on Monday. And yes, we realize “depressing” is probably a strong word. There is nothing depressing about Finau’s bank account, or his golf game. He is a top 15 player in the world, and you could make a case for top 10 or even top five if he just could pick off a few wins.

But, well, he has not. As Ray points out, only Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm have more top-10s than Finau since Finau’s last win in Puerto Rico. In that time, those three have combined to win 31 times on the PGA Tour (15 from Johnson, 12 from Thomas, four from Rahm).

Talent-wise, Finau absolutely belongs in the same category as the DJs, JTs and Rahms of the golfing world, but when it comes to victories the résumés simply do not match up. Here’s hoping that changes soon, because the monkey on his back is almost becoming too heavy to pull off.

The post This latest Tony Finau top-10 stat is just flat-out depressing appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Because he hadn’t had an American victory since the 2017 Masters, Sergio Garcia’s Sanderson Farms Championship win felt like it came out of nowhere. In reality, the Spaniard had won three times since putting on the green jacket, all three victories coming on the European Tour (2017 and 2018 Andalucia masters, 2019 KLM Open).

Yet even with those three wins, Garcia had fallen out of the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in nearly a decade last week. The fact that was so shocking, much like Phil Mickelson dropping out of the top 50 for the first time in 26 years last November, highlights just how consistent Garcia has been these last 10 years (as well as his whole career).

Then, with his eyes closed, the 40-year-old Spanaird reminded us just how good he still is, claiming his 11th PGA Tour victory in Mississipi in stunning fashion. In the process, he checked off a few incredible stats boxes, all of them courtesy of the great Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf).

First, Ray pointed out that Garcia is the only player with a win in each year between 2011 and 2020. He was quick to clarify that Dustin Johnson has had a win in each of the last 10 PGA Tour “seasons,” but one of those DJ wins came in the fall portion of the 2013-’14 season, meaning it occurred in 2013. Johnson did not get a an official OWGR win in the year 2014:

Most consecutive years with at least 1 OWGR-credited win worldwide; active streaks:

Yuta Ikeda, 2009-19; 11
Sergio Garcia, 2011-20; 10
Justin Rose, 2010-19; 10@TheSergioGarcia is the only player with a win in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) October 4, 2020

If you’re wondering how Yuta Ikeda is leading this stat, it’s because Japan Golf Tour wins are official OWGR victories. Amazingly, Ikeda has had one every year since 2009. But he has not yet won in 2020, and has just two months left to keep the streak alive.

Another wild stat Ray shared showed that not only is Garcia one of the most consistent players ever, but he’s been quite the closer since 2017:

Best win percentage with 54-hole lead/co-lead, worldwide, since beginning of 2017 (minimum 5 leads):

Koepka, 100%
Jared Wolfe, 100% (2 KFT, 3 LatinoAmerica)
Yuta Ikeda, 80%
Sergio Garcia, 75% (6-for-8 including today)

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) October 4, 2020

For much of his career, the narrative was that Garcia couldn’t finish. Since 2017, that has clearly not been the case, impressive given just how often 54-hole leads are squandered nowadays (Tiger Woods caused us to forget that golf tournaments are hard to close).

Lastly, this one is a little specific and it’s more of a Vijay Singh appreciation stat than it is a Garcia stat:

Sergio is one of 26 PGA Tour winners age 40 or older since 2004 to gain 12+ strokes tee-to-green on the field.

Vijay Singh accounts for 12 of the other 25!

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) October 4, 2020

Veej! Ridiculous. Thanks, as always, to Ray for the stats. What a week for Sergio, who may have found his game just in time. Apparently, there is a pretty big tournament scheduled for next month.

The post Sergio Garcia checked off a handful of incredible stat boxes with his win at the Sanderson Farms appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Each week on the Golf Digest Podcast, we give a “Nugget of the week.” It may as well be called “Let’s check Justin Ray’s Twitter feed.” That’s because Ray has become a must-follow in recent years for unearthing stats that keep Golf Twitter buzzing for days.

Ray rose to prominence during his time as a researcher for Golf Channel, but is now the head of content for 15th Club. There, Ray compiles notes for fans to consume, but also works with some of golf’s best players (Rory McIlroy and the European Ryder Cup Team are among 15th Club’s clients) and analysts as the role of advanced stats in the game continues to grow.

Among other topics, we spoke to Ray about his favorite Tiger Woods stats, his legendary spreadsheets of data, and some Masters metrics you definitely haven’t heard about. We also discussed the most overrated numbers in golf, and where this stats revolution is heading.

Plus, Keely Levins and Daniel Rapaport joined me to talk Tiger’s Presidents Cup picks, crazy finishes in Turkey and Phoenix, and a spirited Golf Digest annual tradition. Please have a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/presidents-cup-picks-crazy-euro-tour-finish-stats-with-justin-ray

The post Stats guru Justin Ray on his favourite Tiger Woods feats, his legendary spreadsheets, and the best players in Masters history appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Tiger Woods didn’t quite “one-up” Phil Mickelson by winning the Valspar Championship like his longtime lefty rival suggested earlier in the week. But perhaps, this is all part of an even cooler script that is unfolding.

Woods will play again this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and following his runner-up at Innisbrook, Golf Channel’s Justin Ray dropped this eerie stat involving Tiger and Phil — and Bay Hill.

Per our @JustinRayGC, Phil Mickelson's win drought lasted 1,687 days.

Sunday at Bay Hill will be 1,687 days since Tiger Woods' last victory. pic.twitter.com/Mo4CZ4C1fV

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 11, 2018

Whoa. Of course, a lot has to happen for Woods to match Mickelson’s winning timing, but that is pretty freaking freaky.

Woods’ last PGA Tour victory came at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but Bay Hill seems like as likely a spot as any for Woods to win again considering his eight victories there. And Woods will be making his fifth official start of this latest comeback, which is picking up steam.

Mickelson ended his long drought with a playoff victory over Justin Thomas at the WGC-Mexico Championship, something Woods said was “very, very cool to watch.” Golf fans can agree that a win by Woods this coming Sunday would also be very, very cool — and very, VERY serendipitous.

The post Golf Channel just dropped the eeriest Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson stat ever appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.