Comparing Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines to His 2013 Play

How does Tiger Woods play at Torrey Pines last week compare to his 2013 player stats?

Tiger Woods faced down Torrey Pines North and South Courses, and the courses won. While not a complete surprising result, it was disappointing for his fans and probably for Woods himself.

If he were a rank and file PGA Tour journeyman, missing a cut might be something he’d shrug off. But Tiger Woods is not a journeyman. He has won more PGA Tour events than any other player in history except for Sam Snead.

Woods biggest problem is that he has himself for comparison. To see how far off he may be from regaining winning form, we can compare his stats at Torrey Pines South to his average stats for his most recent full season, which is 2013 when he won five times. Unfortunately, there were no Shotlink, stroke-by-stroke stats for Woods’ second round at Torrey Pines North. But there were measured driving holes, and there was someone tracking basic stats such as fairways hit and greens in regulation.

In round 1, Tiger Woods driving distance average was 291.5. His average for the two days was 299.3 yards. In 2013, he averaged 293.2 yards on measured driving holes and was in 49th place among PGA Tour players. In other words, in terms of distance off the tee, he was slightly longer. http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

In round 1, Woods driving distance average was 291.5. His average for the two days was 299.3 yards. In 2013, he averaged 293.2 yards on measured driving holes and was in 49^th place among PGA Tour players. In other words, in terms of distance off the tee, he was slightly longer.

Tiger’s 1st Round

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Driving accuracy was another matter. In round 1, Woods ability to hit the fairways was an astonishingly low 28.7 percent, and his average for the two rounds was 50 percent. In 2013, he averaged 62.5 percent driving accuracy and was in 69^th place on the PGA Tour. To be blunt, he was much worse at Torrey Pines. Woods hit just four of 14 fairways and nine of 18 greens in regulation in round one, according to a PGA Tour media official on site.

Greens in regulation have long been a measure of how well a golfer is performing. At the Farmer’s Insurance Open, Tiger Woods was 50% for round one. For the two rounds, he was 55.56%. In 2013, his average greens in regulation stat was 67.59%. He was in 24^th place for the season. For the two rounds at Torrey Pines, he was slightly more than 12 percentage points worse than his average in 2013.

In the strokes gained putting category, last week Woods strokes gained putting number was 1.53. The winner, Jon Rahm, was 1.593. Woods’ average in 2013 was .426 and he was 23^rd of all PGA Tour players.

In terms of where his shots went, 15 of them on day one at Torrey Pines South went into the right rough. Two went right into greenside bunkers. Two went into the left rough, and one left OB. Nick Faldo was so concerned about Tiger Woods’ set up and his right tendencies that he said on the CBS telecast that he had gone to the range to discuss it with Woods. (Oh, to be a fly on the gallery stake for that conversation!)

Finally, in terms of measuring one skill that Tiger Woods has become known for, making birdie on the par fives, he was not at his best. In round one, he did not birdie the par five 6^th at Torrey Pines South; he bogeyed the par five 13^th. While he did birdie the par five 18^th, he had additional bogeys at the 1^st, 12^th, 14^th and 17^th, all par fours. He doubled the 15^th. Doubled, by hitting a tee shot OB. Or as Shotlink described it, “290 yards to unknown.”

Tiger’s 2nd Round

On day two at Torrey Pines North, Woods birdied the par five 5^th and 10^th, but he parred the 17^th.

All in all, his first two rounds of statistics were below his 2013 year-long averages for the performance values that Shotlink categorizes during play. This is the first time Woods has failed to play the weekend at Torrey Pines in 16 attempts according to the PGA Tour.

Next: Waste Management Phoenix Open Power Rankings

While Tiger Woods feels his way back to the golf course, he is doing the smart thing by playing at places he knows, places he likes, and, for the most part, places where he has both good memories and a lot of victories. It’s a smart way to approach his return. This week, it’s Dubai, and next week it’s the AT&T at Pebble Beach. We’ll review his stats later as he weaves his way through the winter schedule, and we’ll take another look after he completes his four-out-of-five week stretch to see if he is making progress.

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