Rory Sabbatini continued his excellent start to the 2006 PGA TOUR season in winning the Nissan Open by one stroke over defending champion Adam Scott. The victory was Sabbatini's first since the 2003 FBR Open and moved him to the top of the 2006 money list.

At the level of golf he has been playing to start the season, a win for Sabbatini was inevitable. The South African has shot more rounds in the 60s than any other player with 15, and his six top-25 finishes match his total in the 26 events he played last season. The victory was also his fourth top-10 finish on TOUR this year, surpassing his total of three in 2005.

Sabbatini's improvement in 2006 can be attributed to better accuracy on approach, saving strokes around the greens and of course, better putting. This season, Sabbatini has hit almost 70 percent of his greens in regulation and has averaged about 2 feet closer on his approaches. When he has missed a green this year, Sabbatini has been able to save par more frequently than he did in 2005. However, the most important aspect of his early season success has been his ability to successfully convert the additional birdie opportunities.

Rory Sabbatini's Key Statistics at the Nissan Open

Approach to the Green
• Hitting 66.7% of the greens in regulation, Sabbatini finished tied for sixth in GIR percentage
• Sabbatini's average proximity to the hole of 29 feet, 4 inches was second for the week, and from the fairway he averaged 24 feet, 10 inches.
• Sabbatini went for the green off the tee on the short par 4s and in two on the par 5s 62.5 percent of the time and found the green on 40 percent of his attempts.

Putting
• Sabbatini was third in putting average and did not record a single three-putt all week
• One-putting a total 39.9 percent of the greens, Sabbatini finished fourth in birdie or better conversion percentage.
• Sabbatini was two for two on putts that measured between 20 and 25 feet in length.

Scoring
• Sabbatini ranked first in the event in both par breakers and par-4 scoring average.
• In the second round, Sabbatini recorded five consecutive birdies and had a run of three consecutive birdies in the first and third rounds as well - amazingly none of the holes in these three runs overlapped.