Inside the numbers: 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale

Caryn Levy/PGA TOUR
At just 162 yards, the par-3 16th is a simple 8 or 9-iron for most players on TOUR.
January 31, 2012
PGA TOUR staff

WATCH: Jarrod Lyle's ace at the 16th in 2011 | Tiger Woods' ace at the 16th in 1997

The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is not the hardest par-3 hole on the PGA TOUR, nor is it the easiest. Last year, it ranked 143rd out of 206 par 3s in stroke average, playing slightly above par (3.017 average, to be exact).

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Neither is it the hardest nor the easiest hole at TPC Scottsdale. Last year, it ranked sixth in difficulty, but third among the par-3 holes at the course.

At 162 yards, it is among the shortest par-3s on TOUR but certainly not the shortest. At least 18 holes were shorter in 2011.

But there's little doubt about what the 16th actually is -- the loudest, most raucous hole on TOUR, which will be proven once again this week during the Waste Management Phoenix Open. With fans surrounding the entire hole, it truly does give the players a sense of what it's like to play inside an arena.

"16 is always fun," Geoff Ogilvy said. "You just want to give them what they've been waiting for. You just want to hit a decent shot.

"It's the funnest hole of the year when you make birdie or hit a good shot and it's the least fun hole of the year if you hit a bad shot or make bogey."

Holes with most aces (since 1983)
Course Hole Aces
Westchester CC 6 19
Riviera CC 6 14
TPC Sawgrass 13 10
Oak Hills CC 9 9
TPC Scottsdale 16 8
Augusta National GC 16 8
TPC Avenel 11 8
Colonial CC 8 8
TPC Southwind 4 8
Riviera CC 16 8
Aces on 16th Hole (since 1987)
Year Player Round
2011 Lyle, Jarrod 2
2002 Sposa, Mike 2
1997 Woods, Tiger 3
1997 Stricker, Steve 4
1991 Delsing, Jay 3
1990 Bryant, Brad 1
1990 Edwards, David 3
1988 Sutton, Hal 3
NOTE: Since 1987, there have been 10,394 tee shots on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale and just eight aces. This works out to 1 ace every 1,299 tee shots in tournament play.
Most under par at 16th hole (since 1987)
Player Relation to Par Rounds
Perry, Kenny -15 83
Forsman, Dan -10 58
Mediate, Rocco -9 75
Magee, Andrew -8 70
Jacobsen, Peter -7 38
Crenshaw, Ben -7 28
Mize, Larry -7 35
Green, Ken -7 29
Most rounds played at 16th hole (since 1987)
Player Relation to par Total rounds
Calcavecchia, Mark -6 86
Perry, Kenny -15 83
Mayfair, Billy Even 80
Mickelson, Phil 5 78
Azinger, Paul 5 76
Mediate, Rocco -9 75
Magee, Andrew -8 70
Janzen, Lee -4 70
Highest scores at 16th hole (since 1987)
Year Player Round Score Relation to par
2007 Tway, Bob 2 7 +4
2007 Berganio Jr., David 2 7 +4
1991 Buttner, Bill 3 7 +4
1991 Inman, John 3 7 +4
1999 Gallagher, Jeff 1 6 +3
1999 Triplett, Kirk 4 6 +3
1990 Byrum, Curt 2 6 +3
1990 Shirey Jr., Don 2 6 +3
1990 Cochran, Russ 4 6 +3
1989 Twitty, Howard 2 6 +3
1987 Jones, Steve 4 6 +3
Most birdies made on 16th hole (since 1987)
Player Birdies
Perry, Kenny 23
Calcavecchia, Mark 20
Mediate, Rocco 19
Forsman, Dan 15
Lehman, Tom 14
Janzen, Lee 13
Pate, Steve 12
Verplank, Scott 12
Singh, Vijay 12
Armour III, Tommy 12
Mayfair, Billy 12
Magee, Andrew 12
Making birdie all four rounds at 16th hole (since 1987)
Year Player Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Final round
2003 Donald, Luke Birdie Birdie Birdie Birdie
1992 Mediate, Rocco Birdie Birdie Birdie Birdie
1987 Wiebe, Mark Birdie Birdie Birdie Birdie
Longest putts made at 16th hole (since 2003)
Year Player Round Score Length of putt
2003 Molder, Bryce 2 2 55 ft
2011 Teater, Josh 2 2 51 ft
2004 Estes, Bob 3 2 44 ft
2005 Gamez, Robert 1 2 42 ft
2006 Glover, Lucas 2 2 42 ft
2008 Flesch, Steve 2 2 41 ft
2007 Janzen, Lee 3 2 40 ft
2005 Oberholser, Arron 4 2 40 ft
Highest Greens In Regulation percentage at 16th hole
Player Miss Hit Attempts GIR percentage
de Jonge, Brendon 0 10 10 100 percent
Wilson, John 0 10 10 100 percent
Curtis, Ben 1 21 22 95 percent
Bates, Pat 1 13 14 93 percent
Hamilton, Todd 1 11 12 92 percent
Rose, Justin 1 11 12 92 percent
Briggs, Danny 1 9 10 90 percent
Driscoll, James 1 9 10 90 percent
Morse, John 1 9 10 90 percent
Simpson, Webb 1 9 10 90 percent
Minimum of 10 rounds played

In taking a closer look at the 162-yard par-3 16th, PGA TOUR ShotLink guru Alex Turnbull broke down some numbers.