T.J.'s Take: Which long hitter will next post a TOUR win?
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
One of the many adages in the game of golf states, "You drive for show and you putt for dough."
There's no question, particularly on the PGA TOUR, that putting is the most vital statistic. Nevertheless, everyone is intrigued by the long ball. People would rather see a player nuke a 325-yard bomb than hole a knee-knocking 3-footer for a crucial par.
| Your take? | |
|
Yet for some players, the long and short games are balancing out -- and when that happens, it's downright scary.
Take long-hitting Dustin Johnson. The rookie, who ranks fourth in driving distance on TOUR with an average whack of 309 yards, earned his first win at the Turning Stone Resort Championship.
Johnson also led the field in driving distance last week. That makes him the first player to win a TOUR event while leading that event in driving distance since Tiger Woods at the 2007 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
For the year, the only player ahead of Johnson in driving distance on TOUR who has won in 2008 is No. 2 ranked J.B. Holmes.
Aside from Johnson and Holmes, No. 7 Adam Scott (302.1 yards), No. 9 Anthony Kim (300.9) and No. 16 Andres Romero (299.1) are the other players ranked inside the top 20 in driving distance with a win in 2008.
No. 10 Nick Watney (300.3), No. 11 Angel Cabrera (300.2), No. 12 Jason Gore (300.1), No. 17 Charley Hoffman (398.8), No. T18 Davis Love III (298.7) and No. 20 Fred Couples (298.6) are the other former TOUR winners in the top 20 of driving distance.
That leaves nine players who rank in the top 20 of the most macho stat on TOUR without a win on their respective resumes: 1. Bubba Watson, 315.4; No. 3 Robert Garrigus, 310.1; No. 5 Tag Ridings, 303.2; No. 6 Steve Allan, 302.2; No. 8 Harrison Frazar, 301.3; No. 13 Charles Warren, 299.8; tied for No. 14 Paul Casey and Brandt Jobe, 299.2; and tied for No. 18 Travis Perkins, 298.7.
I can't pinpoint precisely when these guys will win. Hey, cut me some slack, I'm not Miss Cleo. But, here's my ranking of the nine smashers in the order I think you'll see them hoisting PGA TOUR hardware:
1. PAUL CASEY. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen the Englishman win yet. It could just be a matter of spreading himself too thin, as the European Ryder Cupper splits his time between the PGA TOUR and the European Tour. Regardless, he's the best on this list.
2. STEVE ALLAN. Have you ever seen a picture of this guy? He'll be 35 on Oct. 18, but his face looks like that of a 12-year-old -- he truly is a "baby-faced assassin" strolling the fairways. The Aussie is quite fond of being in contention. In fact, he hasn't gone an entire season without a top-10 finish since 2002. He's been on the verge so many times in recent years. It's only a matter of time.
3. HARRISON FRAZAR. This Texan has been around for a long time. He's one of those players whose name you hear and you think, "Oh yeah, he's won a couple of times on TOUR." As hard as it might be to believe, the former college roommate of Justin Leonard at the University of Texas has never won. He's been a runner-up on four occasions though. It's about time he moves up a spot.
4. BUBBA WATSON. Are you surprised to see Bubba is holding down the four-spot in my ranking and not higher? Attribute it to the absence of Tiger Woods, because that's what I'm doing. Tiger has taken quite a liking to Watson. The two have enjoyed many early-morning practice rounds the last few years. That was unbelievable for Watson -- a young guy on TOUR, practicing and learning while walking side-by-side (and well ahead of in the fairways) with Tiger. But Tiger has been gone most of the season. One of the biggest knocks on Watson has been his inability to keep his emotions intact. If he can get those emotions under control, he'll win in no time.
5. CHARLES WARREN. The Clemson University graduate has 10 top-10 finishes since his rookie season in 2005. Fellow Clemson Tigers Jonathan Byrd, Lucas Glover and D.J. Trahan have all gotten it done on TOUR, so Warren's got to step it up too.
6. TAG RIDINGS. His best finish on TOUR was a tie for second at Las Vegas in 2004. On Sunday, he was in excellent position to earn TOUR win No. 1, as he began the final round at Turning Stone tied for the lead with Charles Howell III. However, it was far from a Sunday-Funday for Ridings, who shot a crushing 7-over 79 to tie for 27th. Believe it or not, that was only Ridings' third-worst final-round score on TOUR in 2008. He shot an 83 on Sunday at the Buick Invitational and an 80 on Sunday of the PODS Championship. He's got to clean up the bad round.
7. ROBERT GARRIGUS. Here's a fun fact for you -- one of the longest hitters on TOUR uses the shortest putter on TOUR. The Idaho native attacks the greens armed with a 28-inch putter. At Turning Stone, Garrigus matched the best finish of his career with tie for third. The 30-year-old Garrigus still has many seasons ahead of him on TOUR and should eventually snag a win or two.
8. BRANDT JOBE. The Oklahoma City native has made a fine career for himself on TOUR and has tied for second three times. At 43, some might think his best golf is behind him. If that's the case, you haven't been watching the TOUR lately -- namely Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry. Is Jobe on par with those two double-digit TOUR winners? Obviously not. But as the stats tell us, Jobe is knocking it out there just fine. If he can tighten up the short game, he's more than capable of winning.
9. TRAVIS PERKINS. On this list of nine, the 31-year-old Perkins is the only rookie. He's made the cut just three times in 19 starts. We need a larger sample from Perkins to be able to forecast his future. Unfortunately, unless he goes crazy in the Fall Series, or does something special at q-school, his future -- at least for 2009 -- will not include the PGA TOUR.
T.J. Auclair is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
Get the best deals on the best equipment all at the SHOP.PGATOUR.COM.
TOP 100
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network