Monday, March 12, 2012

Anatomy Of A 62

Was Tiger Woods’ 62 in the 4th round at the Honda Classic the best round of the year so far?

Metrics wise, it’s actually a bit questionable. I’ve gone thru each round on Tour this year and I have looked at the average score for that round along with the lowest score and determined what was truly the lowest score versus the average.

So far this year, the metrics suggest this guy had the best round this year.




Yes, Robert Garrigus’ 61 in the 3rd round at the Humana Challenge was -14.77% below the average score in that round.

However, this presents some problems as a tournament like the Humana takes place on multiple courses. Furthermore, the Humana doesn’t have a cut until after the 3rd round. So more players are on the course which could likely provide a higher average score than a round after the cut.

With that, the next best round this year is a tie between Brian Harman’s 2nd round at the Honda (61) and Tiger’s 62, which were both -14.02% below the average. Thankfully, with Shot Tracker data we can go over Tiger’s round:

#1 – 365 yard par-4

216 yard tee shot, leaving him in the Safe Zone (142 yards). Shot to 14-feet and a 2-putt for par. (E)


#2 – 464 yards par-4

266 yard tee shot, leaving him in the Safe Zone (163 yards) in the fairway. Shot on the green to 36 feet and a 2-putt for par (E)


#3 – 538 yards par-5

340 yard drive in the fairway. 192 yards to the hole. A ‘Go For It’ with the shot going 27 feet to the cup, makes the eagle. (-2)


#4 – 376 yards par-4

249 yard tee shot into the fairway bunker (impeded shot). In the Birdie Zone (113 yds), shot to 29-feet and a 2-putt for par (-2)


#5 – 194 yards par-3

Danger Zone shot (194) to 9-feet. Makes birdie (-3)


#6 – 479 yards par-4

304 yards drive in the fairway, in the Safe Zone (145 yards), Shot to 10-feet and a 2-putt for par (-3)


#7 – 195 yards par-3

Danger Zone shot (195), to 11 feet. Makes the birdie (-4)


#8 – 427 yard par-4

257 yard drive in the fairway. Safe Zone shot (165) to 28 feet and a 2-putt for par (-4)


#9 – 421 yard par-4

265 yard drive into the right rough. Safe Zone shot (166) to the left greenside rough (78 feet). 26 yard pitch to 5 feet, made the par putt (-4)



Now, let’s get back to the Back-9


#10 – 508 yard par-4

303 yard drive into the fairway. Safe Zone shot (174) to 59 feet. 2-putt for par (-4)


#11 – 450 yard par-4

265 yard drive in the fairway. Safe Zone shot (154) to 14 feet. Makes the putt for birdie (-5)


#12 – 427 yard par-4

272 yard drive in fairway. Safe Zone shot (161) misses green to 18 feet. Up-and-in for par (-5)


#13 – 388 yards par-4

265 yard drive in fairway. Birdie Zone shot (109) misses green to 15 feet. Up and in for par (-5)


#14 – 465 yard par-4

280 yard drive in fairway. Danger Zone shot (189) to 17 feet. 2-putt for par (-5)


#15 – 179 yard par-3

Danger Zone shot (179) to the front rough, 45 feet away. Chip to 6 feet and a 1-putt for par (-5)


#16 – 434 yard par-4

261 yard drive in the fairway. Danger Zone shot (191) hit to 28 feet on the green. 2-putt for par (-5)


#17 – 191 yard par-3

Danger Zone shot (191) to 25 feet. Makes birdie (-6)


#18 – 556 yard par-5

325 yard drive to left rough.

205 yard ‘Go For It’ to 8-feet

Here’s the tally:

31-31=62 (-8)
12/14 fairways
14/18 GIR

Now we get into the real nitty gritty:

Birdie Zone: 1/2 GIR. Even Par. 22 feet Avg. Proximity to Cup

Safe Zone: 6/8 GIR. -1 score. 31.8 feet Avg. Prox. To Cup

Danger Zone: 5/6. -3 score. 22.5 feet Avg. Prox. To Cup

One thing to note was just how great Tiger’s long iron play was. If you include his 2nd shots on the par-5’s with his Danger Zone shots, he hit them an average of 21.3 feet. With his average shot being from 192 yards.

As I’ve mentioned, typically the leader in Danger Zone play will average 34 feet to the cup. Tiger was hitting it to 21 feet in the 4th round.

Here’s a look at his putting

3-5 FEET PUTTS MADE: 3/3 (100%)
5-10 FEET PUTTS MADE: 3/4 (75%)
10-15 FEET PUTTS MADE: 2/3 (67%)
15-25 FEET PUTTS MADE: 1/2 (50%)
25-35 FEET PUTTS MADE: 1/4 (25%)
35-50 FEET PUTTS MADE: 0/1 (0%)
50+ FEET PUTTS MADE: 0/1 (0%)

While Tiger putted well, I don’t think he was going nuts on the green. I also think it goes to show how ballstriking plays a role in most great rounds of golf and in Tiger’s case, he was on fire with the long irons. If you want to shoot 62, this is the way to do it.





3JACK

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