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Who has played the best in California in the last decade?

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Who has played the best in California in the last decade?


    Written by Justin Ray, @JustinRayGolf

    The PGA TOUR’s West Coast swing is marked by several timeless golf courses, none more famed than this week’s venue, Pebble Beach Golf Links.

    While not all California courses are the same, many of the Golden State’s PGA TOUR stops share similar traits. So it’s no surprise that some players are able to take advantage of West Coast opportunities, playing their best golf here.

    Twenty First Group went through every PGA TOUR event played in the state of California since 2012 – more than 30,000 rounds in all – in an effort to identify which players raise their games the most on the West Coast.

    Maverick McNealy

    McNealy is yet to break through with a victory on the PGA TOUR, but if (or when) he does, nobody should be surprised if it comes in the state of California. Four of McNealy’s five best career finishes on TOUR have come in the Golden State, including a runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am one year ago. McNealy is a combined 99-under-par in PGA TOUR events in California the last three seasons, tied with Patrick Cantlay for best in that span.

    During the last three years, McNealy is 0.85 strokes better per round in relation to par in California than when he plays anywhere else on TOUR. McNealy is hitting 68.7% of his greens in regulation in California events in that span, a significant increase over the average in that same stretch (64.6%). The Stanford product is a combined 25-under-par at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the last two seasons, third-best of anyone in that span.

    Talor Gooch

    His first PGA TOUR victory may have come in the South, but three of Talor Gooch’s six best-career finishes on the PGA TOUR have come in California. There are 233 players with 40 or more PGA TOUR rounds played in California since the beginning of the 2018-19 season. Gooch is one of just 10 in that group with a scoring average under 69.6, joining the likes of Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, to name a few. His 32 rounds in the 60s in California in that span is second-most, trailing Si Woo Kim by one.

    Jon Rahm

    Admittedly, the world's No. 1 player is great basically everywhere he tees it up. But with three PGA TOUR titles already in California – including his U.S. Open triumph last summer – Rahm has separated himself from the pack when playing on America’s West Coast.

    Since the beginning of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season, Rahm is an absurd 224 strokes under par in California, 59 strokes better than any other player (Tony Finau, -165). Rahm’s scoring average in California in that stretch is 68.9, a full half-a-stroke better than anyone else with 20 or more rounds (Patrick Cantlay, 69.5). In 21 starts in California since the 2017 season started, Rahm has 10 top-5 finishes and as many major wins (one) as missed cuts (one).

    Brendan Steele

    Though two of his three PGA TOUR titles have been won in wine country, Brendan Steele’s strong play has dotted the entirety of California throughout his career. Since the beginning of 2012, no player has recorded more rounds in the 60s in PGA TOUR events in California than Steele has (78). He’s also played the most rounds in California in that stretch (192), a testament to consistent appearances on the weekend in those events.

    There are 87 players with 100 or more PGA TOUR rounds in California since 2012. Of that group, only eight have recorded a lower scoring average than Steele has.

    Brandt Snedeker

    Can you name the only player with four or more PGA TOUR wins in the state of California since 2012? It’s Brandt Snedeker, the seasoned Southerner who has nabbed a pair of titles each at Torrey Pines (2012, 2016) and Pebble Beach (2013, 2015). Snedeker’s pop-style putting stroke has served him well on the Poa annua greens of the West Coast: of the more than 80 players with 100 or more PGA TOUR rounds played in California since 2012, only three players have averaged more one-putts per round than Snedeker has (7.63).

    Kevin Streelman

    I’m not sure if Bing Crosby himself loved Pebble Beach as much as Kevin Streelman does. The two-time PGA TOUR winner is one of just two players to finish in the top-20 each of the last six years at the event, along with Jason Day. During that span, he’s 65-under par in the event (2nd best of any player) and made 112 birdies-or-better (third-best). He’s racked up 19 consecutive rounds under par in this event dating back to 2017, to boot. Streelman has 66 rounds in the 60s in PGA TOUR events held in California since 2013, the second-most of any player.

    Jason Day

    Last weekend’s T-3 finish at Torrey Pines was a reminder of how good the former World No. 1 can be when healthy. It also reminded fans of how successful the Aussie has been in the Golden State during his career. Including last week, Day has made 23 PGA TOUR starts in California since the beginning of 2014. He has finished in the top-5 in 11 times in those starts, most of any player in that span.

    There are more than 220 players with 50 or more PGA TOUR rounds in California since 2014. Of that group, Day ranks sixth in scoring average, seventh in birdies or better per round, and 12th in greens in regulation. In 12 career starts at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Day has 10 top-15 finishes, and hasn’t finished outside the top-10 since 2016. What better place would there be for Day to return to the winner’s circle?

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