6 crazy stats from the 2016-17 PGA Tour season
With the PGA Tour on hiatus until the new year, here's a look back at six astonishing stats from the 2016-17 season.
7
After beginning his second round of the John Deere Classic with six straight pars, Kevin Tway began trimming strokes in a big way. Tway strung together the longest birdie stretch of the season on tour with seven straight budgies beginning on the par-3 16th hole at TPC Deere Run. Tway missed his eighth straight birdie at the fifth, but rebounded by birdying Nos. 6 and 7.
Kevin Tway Birdies last 7 holes:
— Ben Everill (@BEverillPGATOUR) July 14, 2017
23’3”
2’11”
9’4”
2’2”
1’4”
28’1”
24’3”
Now has 7’9” for an 8th in a row 👌
12
In the 23 events that Jordan Spieth entered last season, the Texan tied Justin Thomas for the most top-10 results on tour with 12. Spieth, however, played in two fewer tournaments than Thomas. He won three times, finished runner-up three times, and grabbed third place twice.
29
The combination of improved technology, stronger athletes, and customized fitting has created mind-blowing driving distances. In 2016, just nine 400-plus-yard drives were recorded, but in 2017, 29 of them happened on tour. Dustin Johnson cracked five, with his 439-yard bomb at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational ranking him No. 1 on the list.
| Distance | Tournament | Round | Hole |
|---|---|---|---|
| 439 | WGC-Bridgestone | 1 | 16 |
| 428 | Tournament of Champions | 4 | 18 |
| 413 | Memorial | 1 | 17 |
| 409 | Tournament of Champions | 4 | 12 |
| 404 | Tournament of Champions | 4 | 17 |
95'7"
Nick Watney holed the longest putt on tour since 2011 in the first round of the Canadian Open, dropping a 95-foot, 7-inch bomb on the par-5 16th at Glen Abbey Golf Club. That was the fourth-longest putt made on tour since 2003, trailing only Ben Curtis' 100'1" nudge in 2007, Craig Barlow's 111'5" poke in 2008, and Angel Cabrera's 103'5" swipe in 2011.
148
The total number of strokes taken by Tiger Woods in the 2016-17 campaign, the fewest shots he fired during a season in 25 years. The 14-time major champ's only event this season was the Farmers Insurance Open, and he underwent season-ending back surgery in April. Woods took his fewest shots in 1992 as a 16-year-old amateur, when he carded 147 en route to missing the cut at the Nissan Los Angeles Open. Woods - then a high school sophomore - was playing in his first pro event on a sponsor’s exception.
$4.282 million vs. $1.305 million
Matt Kuchar hasn't won a PGA Tour event since the 2014 RBC Heritage, but he remains one of the most consistent players on the circuit. Kuchar posted top-10 results on nine occasions in 2016-17, racking up over $4 million despite not holding an individual trophy. Cody Gribble, meanwhile, began his 2016-17 season with a T-8 finish at the Safeway, then won the Sanderson Farms Championship one week later. Gribble followed up those two results by missing 17 cuts, didn't post another top 10 the rest of the season, and took home just over $1.3 million for his troubles.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)