Top 20 players to watch in 2012: No. 11 Matthew Giles

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Feb. 6, 2012

MORE TOP 20 PLAYERS: CLICK FOR Player NO. 10 | BACK TO Player No. 12 | Top 20 archive

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Don't expect a sophomore slump for Matthew Giles in 2012.

Giles, 22, an Australian and former player at Southern Cal, had a solid rookie season on the Nationwide Tour. He finished 93rd on the money list but showed flashes of good play and will likely make an impact this season.

Giles will have to get a little more accurate off the tee as he ranked just 111th in driving accuracy but his putting was very good ranking 40th in putting average.

Giles hasn't been a pro very long and while he made only eight cuts in 23 events last season, he should know the courses better and know what it takes to be more consistent.

There was a span where he missed six cuts out of seven. The cut he did make he managed to turn into a tie for fourth at the Mexico Open. He was in the final group of the day, but made a double bogey and bogey early to take himself out of contention. He wound up finishing four shots behind winner Erik Compton.

However, after that season-best finish he struggled the rest of the season and made just three cuts in 12 tournaments.

Giles has too much upside to not have a good season in 2012, and he's another one of those young up-and-coming players.

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Take a closer look at Giles' stats from the 2011 Nationwide Tour season.

Category Average Rank
Driving Distance 295.7 57th
Driving Accuracy Percentage 58.50% 111th
Greens in Regulation Percentage 64.49% 115th
Putting Average 1.767 40th
Scoring Average (Actual) 70.98 97th
Sand Save Percentage 45.83% 78th
All-Around Ranking 597 84th
Money Leaders $49,152 93rd
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