That was the disaster that befell Will Zalatoris prior to his opening round in the 2023 Masters. The back problems that had plagued him for a number of years and cut short his 2022 season just days after he claimed his first PGA Tour title, came back with a vengeance as he prepared for the opening round of the year’s first major at Augusta National Golf Club. Two days later, he underwent surgery, a microdiscectomy that cost him the rest of the official 2023 season.

Now fully recovered, much wiser and in good spirits, Zalatoris will find out if his patience and perseverance have paid off when he tees it up at this week’s Hero World Challenge at Albany. The 27-year-old Texan makes his debut in the 20-man, $4.5 million event, hoping it’s the first steppingstone to resuming a career that had shown so much promise in such a short time.

“I had a goal of playing this fall, but it was just too soon in my opinion of where I was at,” said Zalatoris, who considered coming back at the RSM Classic and was glad he didn’t because of the inclement weather. “Playing 72 holes, having everybody here, playing obviously against the best players in the world, even though this week is an unofficial event, it’s still really good for me to get 72 holes and kind of see where I’m at.”

And maybe see where he might be headed, too. Obviously, he’d like to regain the form that elevated him to seventh in the world and enabled him to finish second in three majors in short order, including T-2 in his Masters debut in 2021.

So, yeah, having to leave Augusta early and missing the remainder of the season was a huge blow, especially on the mental side.

“The first five, six weeks were probably the hardest,” said Zalatoris, who was told early on that the recovery period after surgery is hardest from the mental side. “I would say the toughest part early on was having no timeline.”

Fortunately, he received plenty of good advice, none more important than to be patient. Among those who gave him counsel was none other than Hero World Challenge host Tiger Woods, who has undergone multiple back surgeries performed by the same doctor. Zalatoris had a conversation with Woods in September at the Nexus Cup, an amateur team event in New York, and the Hall of Famer provided Zalatoris some valuable insights.

“He really asked me more questions than really … than I was able to. It was also the questions that he asked were really kind of thought provoking,” Zalatoris said. “So now, as opposed to just looking at videos down the line and face on, I’m looking at videos from my rear side and seeing how my back’s doing and seeing how I’m moving.”

Woods also advised Zalatoris not to change “who I am as a golfer and my golf swing, but just refining things to where they’re a little bit more simple.”

With his coach Troy Denton, Zalatoris has done just that, remaining more vertical in his swing and eliminating the reverse-C finish he always had. He also keeps his left heel on the ground throughout the downswing, which lessens stress on his back. What he has discovered is that he can still generate enough power but is more accurate with his driver.

“The part I’ve kind of enjoyed about it is I’m driving it straighter, even though it might be 10 yards shorter,” Zalatoris said. “I think my best year on tour I was 150th in fairways hit, so anything [would be] better on that end by far.”

Zalatoris said he has thrown 2023 “in the bag,” meaning he has moved on, but he can’t say it was a wasted year. He took a few online college courses to complete his degree in psychology from Wake Forest, and he has learned a lot more about himself. “I feel like I know myself better physically, know myself better mentally. I think there’s going to be a lot of positives that are going to come from this time off,” he said. “It’s not like I just sat around and didn’t even watch golf or think about golf. I was watching guys every day, seeing how some of my buddies were playing. So my mind was always there, but when you’re not able to have a club in your hand.

Zalatoris, now 33rd in the world, has been encouraged by his play at home—he shot successive rounds of 63-65-64 at Brook Hollow in Dallas—but now comes a real test. He isn’t sure what to expect. But he knows what he wants to get out of it. He said he is on a mission to get better. This is the start of the process before he makes his official return at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

“I think this week is a lot of almost kind of R&D, with let’s see how I feel going into the last round physically. This week I’m going to be able to take a lot away from it, regardless of how I play,” he said. “The little things, kind of like the feels of playing a round and playing through wind and playing through different conditions, there will be a build up to it. I don’t have a certain score or place or whatever. It’s more of if I put 72 holes together pain free and we’re able to take away a lot of things of what I can work on over the next month before I start up for the next year, you know, either way it’s a positive.”

Image: Patrick Smith

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Will Zalatoris was this close to hoisting the Wanamker Trophy last year, falling just short to Justin Thomas in a three-hole playoff at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Unfortunately the fledgling star is sidelined for this year’s edition of the championship as he rehabs from recent surgery.

But in a Friday appearance on ESPN, Zalatoris revealed that the surgery was a success and is pain free for the first time in “two years”.

“No headaches, no leg pain,” Zalatoris said. “This is the best I’ve felt — I feel great.”

Zalatoris, who finished runner-up at both the PGA and US Open last year, eventually earned his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship, only to suffer an injury the following week at the BMW Championship. The injury took him out of the season finale Tour Championship along with the Presidents Cup.

Zalatoris returned at the beginning of 2023 but continued to look hampered by his body, and was unable to tee it up at the Masters, a tournament he had finished runner-up in 2021 and T-6 in 2022. Later in April, Zalatoris announced he would miss the rest of the season to undergo a procedure.

“After careful consideration and seeking multiple medical opinions, I underwent a successful microdiscectomy,” Zalatoris announced in April. “As much as I hate not being able to play the rest of the season, I am happy that I am already seeing the benefits of the procedure. Playing and living in pain is not fun. I look forward to making a full recovery and seeing everyone in the fall. Thank you to Dr Michael Duffy, Dr Tom Kelton, and their respective teams for getting me fixed. And, of course, thank you to everyone for the support and the messages. I look forward to getting back to 100 per cent.”

Zalatoris said he’s targeting September for a competitive return. The 26-year-old is No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

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After contending in his first two appearances at Augusta National, a third trip didn’t produce the Masters weekend Will Zalatoris hoped for. The 26-year-old PGA Tour star announced on Monday that he will be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing back surgery on Saturday.

Zalatoris revealed he had a successful microdiscectomy procedure, and that he expects a full recovery. Here’s his full statement that he shared on Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Will Zalatoris (@willzalatoris)

Zalatoris played in multiple practice rounds at Augusta National last week, but withdrew before his Thursday tee time. Last year, he took four months off after withdrawing during the third round of the BMW Championship in August. That came one week after winning his first PGA Tour title at the FedEx St Jude Championship.

At his pre-Masters press conference on Tuesday, Zalatoris talked about coming back from two herniated disks.

“It’s taken its sweet time to get the full swing to come back,” he said, “but I think really the last couple weeks we finally have seen some progress.”

Zalatoris returned to action sooner than he anticipated at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and began 2023 by shooting nine consecutive rounds in the 60s. He shot a Sunday 64 at Riviera to finish fourth place at the Genesis Invitational, but had struggled in his past three starts heading into the Masters.

Zalatoris finished runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in his Masters debut in 2021, and backed that up with a T-6 last year. In 10 career major championship starts, Zalatoris has six top-10 finishes, including three runner-ups.

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Kevin Na withdrew from the Masters on Thursday following the completion of his first nine holes.

Na was the first group out on Day 1 but experienced an inauspicious start at Augusta National with a double-bogey at the first and though he birdied the second things did not improve, bogeying three of his next four holes. Na made the turn in 40 strokes before pulling out with an undisclosed illness. Throughout the round Na appeared to be in discomfort.

At the time of his WD, Na was last on the scoreboard. This was his 12th start at the Masters, and he had finished inside the top 15 in his past three Masters appearances.

Na entered his way into this year’s Masters field as one of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of 2022. He was one of 18 LIV Golf members in this week’s field.

Mike Weir, who was playing with Na, will finish his round as a single.

Ben Jared

Not much later, Will Zalatoris, one of the fancied players, also withdrew prior to his 1.24pm tee time through injury.

After strong showings in his first two Masters appearances, Zalatoris won’t get a chance to keep the string alive. The eighth-ranked player in the world was scheduled to tee off in the afternoon in a marquee pairing with major winners Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Zalatoris, 26, has had a run of injuries and illness in recent months. He had a breakout season in 2022, posting runners-up in the PGA Championship and US Open, and notched his first PGA Tour victory in the playoffs’ FedEx St. Jude Championship. But he suffered two herniated discs in his back at the BMW Championship the next week and shut it down for the rest of the year.

The Wake Forest alum’s best finish this season is a tie for fourth in the Genesis Invitational, but he also had to withdraw from the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship two weeks ago because of a stomach virus that resulted in the already lanky golfer losing seven pounds.

Prior to his 1:24 p.m. ET tee time, Will Zalatoris has withdrawn from the Masters due to injury. pic.twitter.com/VdMZ3kzVlP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 6, 2023

He was sounding very optimistic earlier this week about a return to the Masters, where he finished solo second in his debut in 2021 and tied for sixth last year.

“It’s taken its sweet time to get the full swing to come back, but I think really the last couple weeks we finally have seen some progress,” Zalatoris said on Tuesday.

About the back injury, he explained, “The genesis of it was actually bad right ankle mobility. Because of me not pushing off my right side soon enough and being a very kind of dynamic player with some side bend, my right hip got high and tilt back. We’ve been trying to get me actually to stand closer to the golf ball, so that makes me create space with the ball so I can turn more horizontal as opposed to lateral. It’s been good.”

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With a seemingly endless flow of money, LIV Golf was able to entice major champs like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau to join the Saudi-backed league. And yet, Will Zalatoris could not be budged.

According to Fred Couples, Zalatoris rejected multiple offers from the league, including a nearly $100-million jump from a $35 million initial proposal to a $130 million follow-up.

Couples and Zalatoris share an agent, potentially where the golf legend got his numbers from.

“I don’t know anything about the LIV Tour, except they overpay all of them,” Couples said to the Orange County Register.

Zalatoris has quickly become a PGA Tour mainstay. The wunderkind finished runner-up at the 2021 Masters, lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the 2022 PGA Championship and was an oh-so-close putt away from forcing a playoff with Matt Fitzpatrick at Brookline’s US Open, all of which must’ve enticed LIV Golf to make an offer and then boost it dramatically.

Despite the LIV bid, Zalatoris will remain on the PGA Tour and looks to continue his dramatic climb.

“Money is zero object [for LIV],” Couples said. “I give Will a lot of credit. He wants [to stay with] the PGA Tour.”

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Apparently, he’s not quite back though. Almost, but not quite.

“It was fun,” Zalatoris said Sunday at Riviera. “[But] it was kind of Step 2 of 10 in the recovery process, so we’re getting close.”

The 26-year-old is still on the road to recovery having spent 100 days sidelined with a back injury last year. The Dallas-based star withdrew during the third round of the BMW Championship with a back injury on August 20, then took a hiatus that saw him miss the Tour Championship, Presidents Cup and the tour’s autumn events to rehabilitate two herniated discs.

But on Sunday in Los Angeles, Zalatoris showed flashes of the form that saw him post second-place finishes at both the PGA Championship and the US Open last year, as well as a share of sixth at the Masters. Zalatoris went out in 30 on Riviera’s front nine courtesy of five birdies, before adding three more (and a bogey) on the back nine to post his first top-10 on the PGA Tour in his comeback, which spans four events.

“Anytime I shoot 64 on a Sunday, obviously it’s nice to see,” he said. “It really was nice to see some good putts go in today. Overall, drove it amazing this week, which is really the big thing to see coming back from injury. Overall, nice to make eight birdies on Sunday. Anytime I do that, no matter what, obviously I’m very happy.”

As exciting as finishing fourth at the tournament is, Zalatoris said it did not signify his return to full health. Last year’s FedEx St Jude Championship winner said his doctor had advised him that his back would not be completely healthy until around the Masters in April.

“I think that’s something that when I talked to my doctor, he just said, look, you’re on the right path, you’re going to feel really good, but you’re not going to be 100 per cent really until April,” Zalatoris said. “I obviously can pump out 184mph ball speed with the driver any time I want, but it’s doing it repetitively and doing it consistent. So just really just being overcautious.”

And he will need to be cautious, delicately juggling the need to recover before the Masters with playing another three designated PGA Tour events in the lead up to Augusta — the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the WGC-Match Play. Zalatoris skipped Phoenix, which was a designated event, meaning he has to play all the remaining $20 million elevated tournaments if he wants to be eligible for the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Programme (PIP).

“The big thing is really just being 100 per cent by April,” he said. “That’s part of the reason why I didn’t play Phoenix, I was just feeling a little achy here and there and just I don’t want to end this year like how I did last year.”

We all know what Zalatoris is capable of at Augusta National when he’s firing on all cylinders. He’s finished second and tied sixth in two starts at the Masters. Pacing himself between now and then, he knows, won’t be easy.

“For someone who’s 26 and who’s gone 120 per cent pretty much their entire life, it’s very hard, but that three-and-a-half-months off, I really had to learn patience,” Zalatoris said. “Today was a big step in the right direction and we just need to keep doing what we’re doing. I’m really pacing myself going into April and then from there on I should be ready to go and play as much as I want.”

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One of the discoveries Zalatoris made was of no use to his game. “I found the end of Netflix,” Zalatoris said ahead of his event debut at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Another revelation, though, was helpful. He realised it was possible to get over the frustration of three runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour last year — two of which came in major championships — by simply having time off. While inside the bubble on the PGA Tour, Zalatoris was constantly reminded of his three second-place results: playoff losses to Luke List at Torrey Pines and to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship, as well as a joint runner-up to Matt Fitzpatrick at the US Open.

“I’ve been so close so many times … if anything, after having time, off it’s hard to remind myself of all the second places,” said Zalatoris, who had the most prize money and best world ranking of anyone without a PGA Tour win until he broke through in Memphis in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Zalatoris also learned a lot about his body with the help of chiropractor, Dr Greg Rose. “Probably more than I ever wanted to [learn],” Zalatoris joked. Mainly, that his right hip had fallen out of alignment despite his powerful swing helping him rank No.1 on tour last season for strokes gained/approach and also in the tee-to-green category.

“We spent a lot of time understanding the pressures of my golf swing and understanding how I how I push off my right side, and I do it later than a lot of guys,” Zalatoris said. “So, what that does for someone with a lot of side bend is it gets my right hip high, and my spine is tilted back. Dr Rose said: ‘Duh, no wonder you had a back issue.’ But it’s a good thing that it was just a motor pattern as opposed to something that was structurally wrong, because [motor pattern] is something that you can fix [easily].”

In response, Zalatoris has made minor swing changes to his set-up, which are designed to give his swing “longevity”.

“I’m trying to get more centred [at address], as opposed to having the ball forward [in my stance] with more spine tilt at address,” he said. “[I’ll try to have] more of a turn as opposed to kind of a lateral shift.”

Despite the time off, Zalatoris appeared refreshed. If anything, he said the injury was a blessing in disguise, as it facilitated more clubhead speed. He is currently playing a 45.5ins driver but hasn’t lost any clubhead speed. “Once I go back to the 46, I’ll actually [see a] net [increase] in speed with my original gamer. I’m more efficient in my golf swing because of the efficiency with how I now push into the golf ball.”

Zalatoris improving his ball-striking is a likely scary proposition for his peers, especially if he can improve his putting from last season’s strokes-gained rank of 103. Perhaps that’s the key to breaking through for a major victory, having finished in the top 10 at three of the four last year.

“Everything feels really good. We’re just [going to] keep doing what we’re doing and let the next win [happen],” he said.

For now, Zalatoris will reap one of the benefits of winning on the PGA Tour — playing this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions at the picturesque Plantation Course at Maui’s Kapalua resort. The tournament has historically been exclusive to the 30 or so winners from the previous year on the PGA Tour, but this year it was extended to players who made it to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake. It has also been elevated in status to now boast a $15 million purse, of which $2.7 million will go to the winner.

“It’s pretty cool to be with all the champions from the past year and obviously the guys who made it to East Lake,” Zalatoris said. “This is the best of the best. It’s fun being here playing against the best competition in the world.”

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Zalatoris, who has been sidelined since August due to injury, has committed to the Sentry Tournament of Champions beginning January 5 at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.

The 26-year-old is coming off a campaign highlighted by runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship and US Open, with Zalatoris earning his first career tour victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship in a playoff against Sepp Straka. Unfortunately for Zalatoris his season came to an abrupt halt the week after his inaugural win, withdrawing midway through the BMW Championship because of back pain. An MRI revealed that Zalatoris, who has a history of back issues, had two herniated discs.

The injury ultimately forced Zalatoris out of the season finale at East Lake along with the Presidents Cup the following month. Zalatoris finished the year first in SG/approach and SG/tee-to-green, third in official money and 10th in scoring average.

Zalatoris was originally scheduled to play in Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge last week, but withdrew his name from the field. He is currently No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

According to the PGA Tour, US Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick and rising star Tom Kim are also among the first-time tour winners who have committed to play in Maui. Historically a winners-only event, the Tournament of Champions is also inviting all those who qualified for the 2022 Tour Championship into this year’s field.

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After finally claiming an elusive first victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship to take the lead in the FedEx Cup Playoffs with two events to go, Zalatoris hurt his back during the BMW Championship the following week. That forced him to withdraw from both that event and the Tour Championship, where he would have been in fantastic position to claim the $18 million first-place prize. Instead, the 26-year-old settled for last place in the 30-man event and $500,000.

In a year where guaranteed money has been thrown at pro golfers like never before thanks to LIV Golf, it was a reminder that playing without a contract in any sport can be harsh. That being said, Zalatoris has never wavered in his support of the PGA Tour. And in an interview for “In Depth with Graham Bensinger”, he made it very clear as to why.

Essentially, Zalatoris says he’s motivated more by history and winning majors than he is by money. But while we’ve heard that from other players in recent months, the Wake Forest product put why he hasn’t left for LIV in a differet way. Here’s the, um, money quote:
“That’s what people ask me: ‘Shouldn’t you be a prime candidate to go to LIV because of the situation of your first year on tour where you couldn’t be a part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs?’ And I said: ‘Guys, I haven’t won yet, and I’ve made more than $10 million on tour.’”

Obviously, Will would say that to people before he cashed that $2.7 million cheque for winning in Memphis. Because now he is a winner. And he’s blown by that $10 million mark. But the point is, the dude did pretty darn well financially before he ever even lifted a trophy.

You can watch the entire clip of Zalatoris talking about the LIV Golf situation, including that quote, here:

“If I sat there and said I feel like I’m under-compensated as a PGA Tour pro, what does that say about me?” Zalatoris continued. “The money that these guys are given right now, it’s just more money. It’s not life-changing money, it’s just more.”

And speaking of money, Zalatoris also referenced a tour study that shows how well PGA Tour players will be compensated going forward.

“We looked at the projections, and in 2025, you might make $3 million and not keep your card,” Zalatoris said. “How can you argue with being underpaid at that point? I think that the more and more that we talk in terms of how we can make the PGA Tour better, the more and more transparent it is, to me, that it’s the best job in the world.”

Fair point, Will. Of course, you still have to actually play, though, to keep earning those big bucks. Get better soon.

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Will Zalatoris is Mr Approach

Rick Gehman and I once set out to find which individual statistic correlated the best to success on Tour — in other words, what’s the best individual component of the game to excel at — and the answer was the approach. Driving, putting, and around-the-green play all matter, but nothing matters as much as your approach to the green. So it’s with increasing interest that I check the approach stats each year, especially once a season ends, to see if it correlates as much as expected, and if the top 10 list looks as predictably stacked as it has in the past.
It’s long been the case that Collin Morikawa seemed to be the best iron player of his generation, and indeed he was in the top five on Tour in SG: Approach for the third straight year, but the winner this year was Will Zalatoris, the only player to gain more than one stroke on the competition per round with just this part of his game. Yet again, this correlated strongly to success; not only was Zalatoris in the hunt at multiple majors, but he fought his way into the world top 10, nabbed his first victory in Memphis, and would have had a chance to fight for the FedExCup title if not for a late injury. When it comes to ball-striking, nobody was better.

Bryson DeChambeau’s reign as the king of the drivers is over

Jon Rahm. Sam Greenwood

In a year when more than half of all Tour players averaged more than 300 yards off the tee for the first time ever, the competition for the game’s best driver was always going to be stiff. As it happened, the two-time defending “champ” in SG: Off the Tee, the most comprehensive metric we have for which player gains the most on his competitors with the driver. As with the approach category, there was only one man who profited by an average of a full stroke per round in this part of the game, and that was Jon Rahm.
That should come as no surprise — Rahm hasn’t been out of the top five in this category since he was first eligible in 2017. He’s been second twice, and now, with DeChambeau off to LIV golf after two years of holding down the top spot, Rahm finally ascended to No. 1, just beating out Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy. He also, at one point, managed 17 consecutive birdies on par-5s, and you don’t pull off a wild stat like that without a great driver.
(It’s instructive to look at the top 10 list, because while it includes a stellar top three, there are also a good number of names who haven’t been as successful, which makes a big contrast to the approach list. More proof that when it comes to winning, nothing beats a good approach game.)

Denny McCarthy falls just short of yet another putting crown…or does he?

Denny McCarthy. Andy Lyons

I have witnessed in person what it’s like to see a Denny McCarthy flat-stick heater, and it’s pretty wild. Aside from the hot streaks, though, the man is just consistently great; in a part of the game that feels like it should be more volatile than your usual ball-striking metrics, the 29-year-old has managed to win the SG: Putting crown twice in four eligible years. This year, though, he finished second, trailing Lucas Herbert by percentage points.
BUT. I’ve written before about the occasional sample size issue inherent to strokes gained, and while most season-long stats are pretty accurate once the season is over, it’s hard not to notice here that Herbert has only 40 measured rounds to McCarthy’s 87. When you’re No. 1, as Herbert is, your regression is almost certainly bound to be downward, and if you gave him 40 more rounds to play, it’s a fair bet that he would have fallen below McCarthy. In other words, if you’re inclined to give McCarthy his third SG: Putting crown here, I would say you’re not necessarily wrong. Regardless of where he finished, though, it’s more evidence to me that there isn’t a better putter in the world than McCarthy.
And now that we’ve rounded out the “Big Three” statistical categories, let’s have some fun.

Enter Sandman: Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry. Getty Images

It is very, very, very hard to finish a full season with a sand save ratio higher than 2-of-3, and the proof is that in this millennium, only six people — Fred Couples, Franklin Langham, Tim Clark, KJ Choi, Rickie Fowler, and Bud Cauley — have pulled it off, and none of them have done it more than once. Well, now we can add a new name to that list, and it’s the Irishman Shane Lowry, whose 67.09 per cent mark was the best since Fowler’s 2017 campaign. (For what it’s worth, Kevin Tway had the most consecutive saves, with 14.)

Three-Putt Misery Man: Keith Mitchell

There is joy in poring through the Tour’s stats page, and it’s mostly because you can find very weird stuff like “total three putts > 25’,” which delves into truly arbitrary realms. This stat in particular is hard to parse for meaning, because it’s a measure of pure volume, but does it measure whether you stink at putting from distance, or whether you stink at the approach game and leave yourself crazy long putts too often? In any case, Keith Mitchell led the Tour with 46 three-putts from over 25 feet, which is extremely relatable. That has to be particularly painful for Mitchell, who was fourth in SG: Off the Tee, making him one of the five best drivers in the sport this season. When it comes to his next shot, though, he falls off a cliff, and was only 111th-best in approach. That, apparently, set him up for a lot of long opportunities, and as we see, he wasn’t great at mop-up duty.

Long Putt Golden God: Cameron Percy

Of all the Camerons in the game, Percy got the least attention, which is why it’s cool that he did something this season that hasn’t been done in 15 years. Warning: it’s arcane…when Percy hit a green in regulation and left himself more than 35 feet for birdie, he made the putt over one per cent of the time. That’s right! It may not sound like much, but his 8-68 mark this season put him over the one per cent threshold, and we haven’t seen that since 2007, when it was pulled off by Oklahoma’s Taggart Twain Ridings. What’s really weird about this stat is that it’s only been kept since 2002, and from 2003 onwards, only three people pulled it off. But in 2002? Seven people did it!

The GIR duel you never knew existed

Scottie Scheffler. Andy Lyons

When it comes to consecutive stats, greens in regulation might have been the most secretly interesting of the year, in that Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler each managed 34 in a row to lead the Tour. These are two of the game’s best players, and here they were in a battle that 99.999999 per cent of humanity, myself included, never knew was happening.

Steady Sungjae, foot loose and bogey free

Sungjae Im is a marvel, and a guy we don’t talk about nearly enough. It’s easy for him to be overshadowed, particularly in a dramatic year like this one, but he put together another incredible year with just four missed cuts (and this guy plays a lot of events) and a slew of top-15, top-10, and top-5 finishes. He couldn’t quite get his big win, though he almost managed it at the Tour Championship, but he did lead all players in bogey avoidance, making just 195 bogeys in 1,584 holes, for a stellar rate of just 12.31 per cent. He also led in one of my favourite stats, “reverse bounce back,” which measures how infrequently you make a bogey or worse after making birdie or better. There are no letdowns with Sungjae.

Rory is the early bird and almost the late bird too

Rory McIlroy. Eóin Noonan

Round 1 scoring average is kind of a fraught one, in the sense that while it’s obviously good to be the Tour leader, it also comes with the potential danger of implying that the honouree is good early, poor late. Rory led everyone with a flat 68, then dropped to 70 for round 2, 69.5 for round 3, and then back up to 68.07 for round 4. That puts him first in the first round, and second (behind Tony Finau) in the closing round. So if you wanted to go full shrink on Rory, maybe you could use this as evidence that he’s best when the excitement is hottest, at the start and at the end. Although you know that he, and all his fans, wish that one final round in particular, at St Andrew’s, could have gone a lot better.

The extremely prudent lad: Brian Stuard

Finally, though we often praise going for the green in two on par-5s — another metric Rory led, taking a crack 72.04 per cent of the time — why not also give some props to a quality that’s not as flashy or fun, but should be honoured nonetheless? Brian Stuard went for the green with his second shot just 25.68 per cent of the time, the lowest among 195 players measured. As it happens, he was also dead last in driving distance. There’s wisdom there, too, because when Stuard did go for it, he very rarely succeeded, pulling it off in just 15.29 per cent of all attempts, close to dead last on Tour. Knowing our limitations is so important in life, and I think we should give praise to the Tour’s most sensible fellow.

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