PGA Tour: Analyzing What The 2018-19 Winners Have Done Well

Last night, following a lengthy rain delay, Max Homa just capped off a dominant performance for his first career PGA Tour win at the fabled Quail Hollow.

With first-time winners like Homa and Tiger’s Return to Glory it has been an incredible 2018-19 PGA Tour season. One could argue golf has never been in a better place, with old legends fighting off a deep, talented group of young players looking to establish themselves.

With the new schedule in place, we can look forward to more fantastic finishes in the final three majors and top events like the Memorial in the coming months. While three chances at a major championship glory remain, the 2018-19 PGA Tour season is over halfway finished.

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It is a great time to look at the season and see what trends have popped up with the winners. Is there a ‘formula’ for success?

There is clearly no formula for winning multiple times, as there has incredibly been only two repeat champions in official PGA Tour events; Matt Kuchar (him of ‘El Cheapo’ infamy) and Xander Schauffele.

This shows how deep these fields are, and how difficult it is to compete weekly on the PGA Tour. As I detailed in a piece about Rory McIlroy earlier this year, consistent top finishes can often be overlooked, as winning weekly (like Tiger Woods at the turn of the century) is impossible with the deep pool of talented players.

With all of this parity, I wanted to dive into the stats and see if there was a successful formula among the winners. Using the Strokes-Gained stat from the PGA Tour, I looked at the median ranking of the 2018-19 PGA Tour winners this season across four categories: Off The Tee, Approach to Green, Around the Green and Putting. Here is a ordered ranking of each category:

Approach to Green (Median Rank 49)
Off The Tee (Median Rank 55.5)
Putting (Median Rank 71.5)
Around the Green (Median Rank 78.5)

They say you ‘Drive for Show and Putt for Dough’ but the opposite seems to be the case this season. The 2018-19 PGA Tour champions have won with their long game, as they have shown the most proficiency with their driving and ball-striking.

However, considering over 200 players are measured, there is not much discrepancy between the Strokes Gained rankings, and no consistent method for capturing a title.

For example, Cameron Champ, the young power-hitting Californian, ranks 12th in Strokes-Gained Off-The-Tee but dead last Around The Green. Meanwhile, notorious slow player J.B. Holmes does not rank in the Top 75 for any category but held off Justin Thomas, Adam Scott and a host of Major Champions to win at the famed Riviera Country Club.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 17: J.B. Holmes (L) and Justin Thomas hug after completing the final round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on February 17, 2019 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

All of this further shows how difficult it is to win on the PGA Tour. There is truly no ‘formula’ for success; any given week, at least fifteen players have a legitimate chance to win. A player needs to be on top of both his physical and mental game and ultimately receive some good luck to finish on top of the leaderboard.

Max Homa puts it all together to break through at Wells Fargo Championship. dark. Next

For me, this makes the season even more exciting. Each and every week a new star, like Max Homa, can rise. It makes every tournament a joy to watch and I can’t wait to see who captures the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black later this month.

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