Can anyone catch Justin Thomas at the Tour Championship?
By Bill Felber
The field
Most of the remaining 21 players start too far back to project as serious challengers for the overall title. A few, however, are sufficiently dominant in certain skill areas to merit notice.
Off The tee: Corey Conners, Paul Casey and Abraham Ancer all average a pickup of more than six-tenths of a stroke per round; Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Kokrak and Gary Woodland all approach that level of advantage. At the other end of the scale, Marc Leishman and Brandt Snedeker gave away strokes off the tee during the 2019 season, and stand to enter East Lake at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Approaching The green: At better than three-quarters of a stroke per round, Hideki Matsuyama is capable of winning with his iron game; that average improvement on the field ranks third – behind only Thomas and Scott. Kokrak, Casey, and Conners also average better than six-tenths of a stroke advantage with their irons. Ancer, Snedeker and Charles Howell III are disadvantaged with their irons, Howell giving back .012 strokes per round due to his approaches.
Around the greens: If it’s a chipping contest, Snedeker could threaten. At .532 strokes gained per round, he is the only player in the field to average better than a half stroke pickup during the 2019 season. Five players gave strokes away during 2019, the five being Gary Woodland, Conners, Chez Reavie, Kevin Kisner and Kokrak.
Putting: Snedeker also offsets the disadvantages wrought by his long game once he reaches the green. At .677 Strokes Gained Putting, he is the most efficient putter in the East Lake field. Justin Rose is the only other player carrying an average pickup over six-tenths of a stroke. Putting problems tend to handicap Ancer, Woodland, Casey, Tony Finau, and Conners, all of whom had negative Strokes Gained Putting scores during 2019.