PGA TOUR Staff
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are separated from each other by no more than 1,000 points entering the second event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, All three of these players possess elite skills, but Woods enters the Deutsche Bank Championship with five victories and a scoring average more than a stroke better than Mickelson and Singh.
By looking more closely at ShotLink data from this season, the key areas separating Woods from the men he will play with in the first two rounds at the TPC Boston can be identified.
Area No. 1: Greens in Regulation and Proximity to the Hole
Off the tee, each of these players can put it out there, with all ranking in the top 20 in driving distance. All three also tend to hit the fairway in the 55- to 60-percent range. However, it is what they do with the golf ball on approach that separates the three. Woods is the only one who ranks in the top-10 in both greens in regulation and proximity to the hole, and hitting the green more often and closer to the hole is a good thing.
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Area No. 2: Scrambling from the Rough
Mickelson is renowned for his short game, and while it is impressive, he still ranks behind both Woods and Singh in scrambling success. The overall difference is negligible as the three are separated by mere fractions of a percent when it comes to the overall statistic -- Woods at 58.8 percent; Mickelson 58.1percent; and Singh 58.9percent. However, when looking deeper into the scrambling statistic, you will find that Woods gains a huge advantage around the greens. In 2007 Woods ranks first in scrambling from the rough, managing to extricate himself and save par (or better) 69.8 percent of the time. Mickelson and Singh hold their own in this area, but at 59.5 percent for Mickelson and 56.2 percent for Singh, the difference represents valuable strokes over the course of a tournament.
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Area No. 3: 3-putt Avoidance Over 25 Feet
As good as these three players are, they do not always manage to get it close to the hole on approach. Most of the time they manage to get the ball in the hole in less than two strokes, but Woods does this a bit more frequently than Singh or Mickelson. It may not seem like much, but at this level every stroke means a lot.
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Area No. 4: Par Breakers and Birdie Average
This area is merely the logical conclusion and result of the first three areas. Mickelson and Singh rank eighth and 12th, respectively, in par-breaker percentage (a measurement of the total holes played under par) and are tied for 12th and 15th in birdie average. Woods, meanwhile, ranks 18th and 31st in these two key scoring categories. However, Woods is ranks first in the most important statistic, scoring average, and his average of 68.04 is over a stroke better than Mickelson and Singh. Woods is not scoring better and winning because he makes more birdies than his two rivals; he is scoring better and winning simply because he makes fewer errors.
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