How good is it to shoot 70?

In our PGA Section Match Play event a few years back, I shot 70 in the stroke play qualifying round.  I was rewarded with the 5-seed.  In the first round match that afternoon, I again shot 70 but lost on the 19th hole. 

As bummed as I was, on the hour drive home I started to wonder: what would golf be like if I shot 70 every time I teed it up?  Every round I shoot 70, regardless of par, course difficulty, competition, conditions, etc. 

Easy, just pull the PGA Tour results and see, right?  Surely not great – there is a 63 seemingly every week and someone gets to 15-under par all the time.  Well, you would be surprised.

Curtis Strange famously shot 70-70-70-70 in the 1994 US Open at Oakmont and finished 4th.

The Sentry in January through the Tour Championship in 2024, there are 33 sets of results to check.  The events disregarded because of the format are the Zurich, due to the team format; Barracuda, due to the modified Stableford scoring; and the Tour Championship due to the staggered start. Five other events are disregarded due to being Opposite events (since one could not play two events at the same time): Puerto Rico, Corales PuntaCana, Myrtle Beach, and ISCO Kentucky.

In the majors, I finish 2nd in the Masters, t-60th in the PGA, t-9th in the US Open, and t-6th in the Open Championship. I finish t-26th in the Players and t-30th in the Olympics.

In the remaining events, I miss five cuts: Sony, American Express, CJ Cup Byron Nelson, John Deere, and the Scottish Open. I do not win any events but I am in a playoff with Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial. I have four other top 10’s: Bay Hill, Wells Fargo, BMW, and Valero. 

Not a bad season right? Certainly strong enough to maintain a Tour card, get into the majors and signature events.  Well, if I am on Tour, I would probably be happy with that, though perhaps bummed to not win (depending on how the playoff goes at Jack’s place).

But what about someone in my neck of the woods who is not on Tour? Playing in a Tour event or a major is a pretty good accomplishment, so let’s check Monday Qualifiers, US Open qualifying, and Q-School.

Results for Monday Qualifiers for Tour events can be tough to locate but 70 tends to fall short the vast majority of the time – a 70 in 2022 and 2023 Korn Ferry event qualifiers in my state was far from qualifying for the event itself.

What about the US Open in 2024? 70 in Local Qualifying advances from 40 sites; fails to advance from 50 sites, and is in a playoff to advance from 19 others. 70-70 in Final Qualifying fails to qualify from 11 sites but makes it in two: Bears Club in Florida and Pronghorn in Oregon.

Looking at Q-School results in 2023 (note: 2024 is currently in progress ) can be a bit of a 'luck of the draw.' 70 in each round advanced from each site of the Pre-Qualifying round.  In the 1st Round, I would have advanced from six of the sites but failed to advance from the other five. In the 2nd Round, I would advance from all five sites. The Finals though, I finish t-45th and miss my PGA Tour card, miss my Korn Ferry tour card, but earn Conditional status. Not a bad consolation.

But what if I shoot 70? I am a PGA Professional and generally only play in PGA of America events. In my Section’s Professional Championship since my election to membership in 2009, 70-70 has qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship all but one year (2013).  Going back to 2006 – 18 total events – when the current format of 312 players on two courses began, four rounds of 70 would have won 5 National Championships. In addition, I would have qualified for the PGA Championship each of the 13 other years. Shooting 280 over four rounds in the PGA Championship over the same period would have won in 2021, finished second in 2012, and been in a playoff with YE Yang in 2009. 

In conclusion, shooting 70 in every round would be great for a Tour player over the course of a season. A non-Tour player trying to get into a Tour event falls short the vast majority of the time.  Qualifying for the US Open or entering Q-School though, a 70 in every round could be a good score depending on which qualifying site you are drawn to. 

Lastly, PGA Professionals who can shoot 70 can book a trip to the PGA Championship every year.  Some years, the PGA Professional shooting 280 for four rounds could parlay that into a Tour card, a coveted trip to the Masters (if finishing in the top 4), or a host of other opportunities.

I like a career for the PGA Tour player and the PGA Professional … if they could only shoot 70 every round; non-Tour players have more inconsistent paths and need some luck of the draw.