This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
The PGA Tour's stars move to TPC Scottsdale this week for the loudest show in golf, the Phoenix Open. This field is especially good, and especially after last week's dawning of a new Spanish star in Jon Rahm. Here's our stats thread.
Rahm's Path to Victory
Rahm won in impressive fashion – not only by making a 60-foot, 8-inch eagle putt on 18 – but also by dominating in key ballstriking categories. For the week he ranked first in strokes gained – off the tee, first in approach to the green, T19 in driving accuracy, T16 in driving distance, and T12 in greens in regulation in the three ShotLink-tracked rounds. That's a monster performance that, if repeated over time, should lead him to be the next European star many have expected of him.
I'm always skeptical of players a week after a win – especially your first – but Rahm went to Arizona State so this is a sort of homecoming for him this week. If you like what you saw last week and want to roll with it, I have no issue.
Watch C.T. Pan
Another former No. 1 amateur in the world, Pan starred at Washington State and tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open aided by a putter that had him ranked fourth in the field. He ended 2016 right, tying for sixth at The RSM Classic, before missing the cut in his first two starts of 2017. The difference came from the putter, where he
The PGA Tour's stars move to TPC Scottsdale this week for the loudest show in golf, the Phoenix Open. This field is especially good, and especially after last week's dawning of a new Spanish star in Jon Rahm. Here's our stats thread.
Rahm's Path to Victory
Rahm won in impressive fashion – not only by making a 60-foot, 8-inch eagle putt on 18 – but also by dominating in key ballstriking categories. For the week he ranked first in strokes gained – off the tee, first in approach to the green, T19 in driving accuracy, T16 in driving distance, and T12 in greens in regulation in the three ShotLink-tracked rounds. That's a monster performance that, if repeated over time, should lead him to be the next European star many have expected of him.
I'm always skeptical of players a week after a win – especially your first – but Rahm went to Arizona State so this is a sort of homecoming for him this week. If you like what you saw last week and want to roll with it, I have no issue.
Watch C.T. Pan
Another former No. 1 amateur in the world, Pan starred at Washington State and tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open aided by a putter that had him ranked fourth in the field. He ended 2016 right, tying for sixth at The RSM Classic, before missing the cut in his first two starts of 2017. The difference came from the putter, where he went from negative strokes gained in those two previous starts to positive by at least 1.2 strokes for the three ShotLink days and 6.469 for the week, especially impressive on the South Course's notoriously difficult poa annua greens. If you're looking for a young gun this week, look at Pan.
The Stat
TPC Scottsdale can yield birdies and bogeys – we saw that with Rickie Fowler last year in the playoff against Hideki Matsuyama – but going low is going to be a key around a golf course getable under most conditions will mean a major importance in proximity to the hole this week. Here are the leaders of that category in the field this week:
Mark Wilson - 29 feet, 2 inches
Justin Thomas - 30 feet, 4 inches
Roberto Castro - 30 feet, 6 inches
Jordan Spieth - 30 feet, 11 inches
Emiliano Grillo - 31 feet, 5 inches
Obviously you have to look at Thomas – the hottest player in the game after winning both Hawaiian events – as a pick in this area, though you never quite know how a player will fare off a two-week layoff. But so far this year he's ninth in strokes gained – putting, second in birdie average and second in scoring average (a 59 helps). All good signs for what this week requires.
We should also not overlook Castro. Still looking for his first PGA Tour win, he had his best finish of the year, a T28 at Torrey Pines last year, tied for 19th here in 2014 and is 24th in driving accuracy entering this week. Drive it well = opportunities await. He's a strong pick.
The Contenders
The field includes contenders Phil Mickelson, Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, B.H. An, Andrew "Beef" Johnston, Patrick Reed, Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald, Harris English, J.B. Holmes, Billy Horschel, Brooks Koepka, Pat Perez, Patrick Rodgers, Harold Varner III and more.
Mickelson says he'll be 100 percent healthy this week, and he played well last week as he continues to get sharper and sharper. If you think his game is coming around, now may be the time.
Bradley, English, Finau, Perez and Rodgers all played well last week. I'm going to highlight Bradley and Finau and recommend them.
Bradley has had all sorts of putting issues since the anchoring ban but sees it finally coming around. He tied for fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open, ranking 33rd in strokes gained – putting – huge for him – along with being fifth in strokes gained – off the tee and 17th in approach to the green, Bradley strongsuits.
Finau also tied for fourth at Torrey Pines and ranked 31st in putting – an area he's not known for either (he ranked 13th in strokes gained – off the tee, his bread and butter). Aided by a T26 rank in greens in regulation, I like Finau this week.
The Weather
The forecast for the Phoenix Open will be traditional Scottsdale weather: Sunny skies, warm afternoons (mid-70s), cool evenings and light winds.
