Players on the cusp at the Northern Trust
By Bill Felber
70. J.T. Poston
Similar to Streb, much of Poston’s standing is wrapped up in just two events. He was third at last October’s Sanderson Farms, and second at the Barbasol – held opposite the British Open – in July.
That runner-up is Poston’s only top 20 in 11 Tour starts since May 1. For the record, five of those 11 were missed cuts. So Poston will have to be at his best in order to advance past the Northern Trust.
Poston’s game involves one club, the putter. For the season, he’s third on Tour in Strokes Gained Putting, averaging a pickup of nearly three-quarters of a stroke per round against the field. That putter is hot, averaging nine-tenths of a stroke gained every round since the U.S. Open.
If Poston’s long game was even competitive with his short game, he’d be a serious week-after-week threat. It’s not. He ranks 140th in Strokes Gained Off The Tee and 191st in Strokes Gained Approaching the Green, probably the most important skill week-in-and-week-out on Tour.
The impact of that shows up when Poston stands over that critical approach putt. On average, it comes from nearly 40 feet away, ranking 192nd on Tour. To do well this week, Poston must stick his approaches within a plausible one-putt range.