Best performers of the 2021 Major championship season
By Bill Felber
2. Louis Oosthuizen, -1.443
With three consecutive top three finishes, Oosthuizen nearly stole the title of Major player of the year despite failing to win any of the events.
His only letdown was at the Masters. In April, Oosthuizen only tied for 26th, an opening round 76 doing him in.
From that point on Oosthuizen was a consistent championship contender. He tied Koepka for second at the PGA, two strokes behind Mickelson. At the U.S. Open, he was solo second, one shot behind Rahm. This past weekend he led through three rounds before being overtaken by Morikawa on Sunday and tying for third.
His scores:
Masters +0.08
PGA -1.17
U.S. Open -2.03
British Open -2.05
Average -1.443
1.Jon Rahm, -1.70
Like Morikawa, Scheffler and Spieth, Rahm beat the four-round field average in all four Major events. Combine that with his U.S. Open win and strong finishes at two of the other three Majors and that explains his standing at the top of the list.
He was also the only player all season to land top 10s in every calendar year Major.
Rahm tied for fifth at the Masters and for eighth at the PGA. His victory at the U.S. Open came via a standard deviation of -2.24 compared with the field average.
At the British Open, he closed with three rounds in the 60s to steadily pull up into a tie for third with Oosthuizen.
His scores
Masters -1.45
PGA -1.06
U.S. Open -2.24
British Open -2.05
Average -1.70