Henrik Stenson ranks first in four major statistical categories in 2013. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM

D.A. Points won the Shell Houston Open with a clutch 13-foot par putt on the 72nd hole on Sunday. Everyone will remember the story about Points using his mom's old putter. But don't forget about those wedges (we're pretty sure those aren't from mom, too). Points' scrambling was pretty tidy in Houston, especially in comparison to his stats from this season. We'll take a look at that and also this week's Valero Texas Open -- played at difficult TPC San Antonio -- by going inside the numbers.

1st  Ranking next to Henrik Stenson’s name in four major statistical categories in 2013. … Stenson, who ranked 133rd in the world just eight months ago, has really turned his game around. He’s played five events in ’13 (four stroke play) and ranks first in driving accuracy (72.96 percent), greens in regulation (77.78 percent), scrambling (75 percent) and total driving. And now -- buoyed by a T2 at the Shell Houston Open, he’s headed to the Masters.

+1.989  That’s how many average strokes TPC San Antonio played over par at the 2012 Valero Texas Open. The AT&T Oaks Course was the fourth most-difficult course on the PGA TOUR last season. It was also the seventh most-difficult on TOUR in 2011 (+1.665). … There have been several renovations to the golf course in preparation for this week’s tournament -- in which Rory McIlroy is playing for the first time -- which includes alterations to the first, fourth, 10th and 12th greens.

6  This number is a reason to keep an eye on Ben Curtis at this week’s Valero Texas Open. It represents the number of defending champions from 2012 that have posted top-five finishes in 2013. Steve Stricker (2nd at Hyundai Tournament of Champions), Brandt Snedeker (T2 at Farmers Insurance), Bill Haas (T3 at Northern Trust), Hunter Mahan (WGC-Accenture Match Play), Luke Donald (T4 Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank) and Tiger Woods (Win at Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard) have carded T5s. Of course, four defending champs have missed weekend play. … Curtis, defending this week at TPC San Antonio, missed the weekend in Houston and has just a pair of T25s this season. So will it be feast or famine for him this week?

9  Number of eagles made this season by Chris Kirk, which leads the TOUR. … Yes, Kirk has an incredible nine eagles in 31 rounds. Not bad, considering Charles Howell III led the TOUR last season with 18 eagles in 98 rounds. Even more ridiculous, Kirk hasn’t even had an eagle in his past two tournaments or eight rounds. He had three eagles at the Sony Open in Hawaii and three at the Northern Trust Open. He also had a hole in one at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. It’s even more impressive when considering a player such as Lee Westwood has no eagles in 2013.

12 of 15  For you non-math majors that comes out to 80 percent, or Points’ scrambling percentage at Shell Houston, which ranked fifth in the field. … This essentially helped Points win his second career event on TOUR, as you may recall his incredible saves on the 17th and 18th holes in the final round. He got up-and-down from 43 yards out on 17 and made a 13-foot, 5-inch putt on the 18th to win. The 80 percent clip is also a dramatic improvement for Points. In 2013, Points ranks 116th in scrambling at 57.56 percent. He was T112 in 2012, at 56.50 percent.

146th  Scrambling rank for Dustin Johnson in 2013, or a rate of 55 percent. … What’s the big deal, you ask? No, Johnson wouldn’t be a top pick to win a short-game contest on TOUR. But last season, he had improved dramatically from past years. He ranked 32nd in scrambling at 60.29 percent and 38th in sand saves at 53.85 percent. Not bad, considering the best he ranked in scrambling from 2008 to ’11 was 139th. Johnson has just three T25s in nine events in ’13, but poor scrambling stats haven’t affected Johnson much during his career. We’ll have to see if it affects him in '13.

169 feet, 4 inches  Distance in putts made for Points in the first round of Shell Houston. … Points needed just 23 strokes on the greens during a first-round, 8-under 64. He gained nearly 5 strokes on the field average during Round 1. Points cooled off a bit on the greens, but finished the week 10th in strokes gained-putting. For 2013, Points ranks 152nd in SGP -- the reason he sought help with his putting and added his mom’s old putter to his bag.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ARCHIVE

Week 2: Sony Open/Humana Challenge

Week 3: Humana Challenge/Farmers Insurance Open

Week 4: Farmers Insurance Open/WM Phoenix Open

Week 5: WM Phoenix Open/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Week 6: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am/Northern Trust Open

Week 7: Northern Trust Open/WGC-Accenture Match Play

Week 8: WGC-Accenture Match Play/The Honda Classic

Week 9: The Honda Classic/WGC-Cadillac Championship

Week 10: WGC-Cadillac/Tampa Bay Championship

Week 11: Tampa Bay Championship/Arnold Palmer Invitational

Week 12: Shell Houston Open

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brandt Snedeker has just made back-to-back birdies to open a three-stroke advantage during Sunday's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Snedeker said Saturday evening that playing the par 5s well was key to mastering Pebble Beach -- and that's exactly what he's done so far. The Tennessean just two-putted for birdie from 20 feet at the sixth hole after making eagle on the second.

Snedeker then made a 16-footer for birdie at No. 7 to move to 17 under. Chris Kirk, playing in the penultimate group, is his nearest competitor after making an 8-footer at the fifth hole, his third birdie of the day.

Rookie James Hahn is hanging tough, as well, at 13 under. He's made two birdies and a bogey at the par-3 fifth and is 13 under.

After taking a triple bogey on No. 9 (pictured) Chris Kirk eagled the 18th to go 1-over on par 5s. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

By: Fred Albers, PGA TOUR.COM Correspondent

HONOLULU -- The last group on Sunday will be comprised of Russell Henley, Scott Langley and Tim Clark. That’s a pair of rookies and a veteran with victory at the 2010 PLAYERS Championship on his resume. It was critical for Clark to make his birdie putt on the 18th hole to get into that final group. He will be able to know exactly where he stands the entire round and detect any rookie nerves that may be present in Henley and Langley.

Putting: Scott Langley is tied for the lead because he is a good player but he has putted the grass off the greens this week with phenomenal efficiency. The rookie has made 403-feet, 8-inches in putts. He is 40 of 44 on putts measuring 10 feet or less. Langley has hit 37 of 54 greens to rank 44th in the tournament but he is second in total putts and No. 1 in strokes gained - putting.

It happens to everyone: Chris Kirk was 3 under and making a charge until a triple bogey on the par-5 ninth hole. He said two bad swings led to a pair of drops and the eventual eight. In fact, Kirk made a 20 footer just to salvage that triple. Maybe it was just the Golf Gods getting even. Kirk eagled both par 5s on Friday with putts of 3 feet or less. Kirk was back in form at the 18th, holing an eagle chip to shoot 68 and stand at 12 under.

Scrambling: Tim Clark has missed 14 greens the entire week and gotten up and down 13 times. He leads the tournament in scrambling, having played 54 holes with just one bogey. That came on the sixth hole in the third round when Clark missed from 8 feet, 11 inches.

Greens: Once again, the greens were receptive for the entire third round. The moisture content in the putting surfaces allows shots to hold the green. Officials have not watered this week but the naturally wet Hawaiian winter has the greens moist and lush which leads to birdie chances. As a bonus for golfers, the trade winds were a non-factor on Saturday. Winds were less than 10 miles per hour. The forecast calls for winds out of the northwest on Sunday, which could favor experienced players.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.

Little/Getty Images

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here .

MORE TOP 100: Back to No. 86 | Forward to No. 84 | Top 100 archive

2013 PREVIEW: Chris Kirk ranks 22nd on TOUR in par breakers but he went a year without really contending in 2012. Getting back into the hunt will be key as he seeks to make the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola for the first time.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Four top-10 finishes, including two ties for fourth, highlighted Kirk's sophomore campaign. He had to be pleased with the final one at the CIMB Classic, where he shot a bogey-free 63 in the third round and ended up tied with Tiger Woods and Brendon de Jonge. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Chris was very consistent during 2012. He made 20 of 27 cuts and won $1.2 million dollars. At one point, Kirk made 11 cuts in a row. What his season lacked was a big finish. He had three top-10s, but nothing better than a fourth at the RBC Canadian Open. I am sure he's disappointed in not winning for the second time on TOUR, but it is also nice to cash so many checks.-- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Coming off a quietly steady season, if you can call four top 10s among 20 cuts made tiptoeing your way around the PGA TOUR. May have been a bit distracted early in the year due to the birth (and health-related concern) of his first child (in March), but he closed out the year with 11 consecutive cuts made and ranked fifth in birdies or better on par 4s. He's priced wonderfully for salary gamers at $1.197 million. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

SOCIAL MEDIA: Find him on Twitter

2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 80th

Final Playoffs ranking 49th

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

What is your prediction for Chris Kirk in 2013? Fill out the form below and let us know.

Rogash/Getty Images

Chris Kirk won the Viking Classic in 2011.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

NORTON, Mass. -- Chris Kirk has adopted a go-for-broke attitude for the FedExCup Playoffs and it appears to be paying off.

He entered the Deutsche Bank Championship ranked 81st and needs a big week in order to move into the top 70 and make the field for the BMW Championship. Kirk got off to the kind of good start he needed, too, when he fired a 63 that left the Georgia grad one shot off Seung-yul Noh’s lead.

Obviously, 54 holes remain. But when the first round was finished, Kirk was projected at No. 9 in the FedExCup standings. 

"I came in at 33rd last year and probably put a little too much pressure on myself," said Kirk, who finished the Playoffs in 2011 ranked 42nd. "But this year halfway through the season I was about 130th, so I played pretty well the few months before they started just to get in here, so I kind of just see it all as a bonus, however far I manage to make it."

Kirk started on the back nine and bogeyed No. 11 but answered with consecutive birdies and never looked back. The catalyst in the round was a 9-foot eagle putt at the 18th hole that was followed by birdie putts of 20 and 7 feet on the next two holes.

"That was huge for me, kind of scraping it around a little bit, kind of getting away with a few things and making some putts my first eight holes and I really made a good swing with my tee shot on 18 and even better swing on my second shot, and that kind of propelled me to playing a really solid nine," Kirk said.

Kirk ended the day with just 23 putts to lead the field in that category. The last was a clutch 12-footer to save par at the ninth hole and preserve sole possession of second place.

"I thought I hit a pretty nice second shot in there, but having to hook it around those trees it just landed a little hot and didn't hit a great chip, but making that putt definitely makes me feel a little better," Kirk said. "I've putted reasonably well for the last few months. It wasn't great last week, but these greens are just so perfect here, if you hit it on line, it's going to go in. So that kind of gives me a lot of confidence."

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Chris Kirk aced the 17th hole on Friday during the second round of The Barclays.

Kirk used a 5-iron on the 190-yard hole. The ace helped turn things around after a difficult start that saw Kirk, who had opened with a 68, bogey four of his first six holes.

Kirk is now 2 over for the tournament and tied for 39th.

Chris Kirk didn’t exactly envision the start he got off to on Saturday.

“Every time I hit a decent shot I'd have a 10-footer that was right edge up there, and kind of left myself in perfect position on the entire front nine,” Kirk said.

He took advantage of them, too.

Kirk birdied six of seven holes, including four in a row at one point, on the front nine during Saturday’s third round. He added another on the 10th and shot 63 to move into contention at 12 under in the RBC Canadian Open.

“It was a dream start,” Kirk said. “That front nine, everything was going right.”

Now he’ll hope for a dream finish as he tries to win for the second time in his career.

If Kirk keeps playing the way he has, he’ll certainly have a chance. He’s made just one bogey this week -- though it was a costly triple bogey on the 18th hole in the opening round.

Through two rounds, Kirk has hit 78 percent of his greens and ranks in the top 10 in strokes gained-putting.

“I always had the theory that you always have these days when the putts are going in the middle of the hole and everything's working out, so you have to get as many as you can on the days you have it,” Kirk said.

He did just that, taking 26 putts on Saturday.