Do Scoring and Skill statistics align on the PGA Tour, or are they just one of many factors?

Why do we have the FedExCup points list, and how does it differ from the money list? How much is a FedExCup points list worth? Let's find out.

Missing from this week's analysis: the number of times the announcers make stupid comments. Gary McCord talks too fast for me to keep an accurate count.

How did Oakmont play? How penal was the rough? How tricky were the slick greens? Find out.

Would you believe that the average winning score at the U.S. Open since 1945 has been below par? You'd better.

With the remaining three majors fast approaching, act now if you want to attend live, and get your pocket book ready.

It's a wonder anyone makes putts longer than two feet given this math!

The days of the rabbit - a pro golfer scraping by week to week barely making ends meet - are long gone.

How much time can you save just by walking 15% faster? The answer may surprise you.

Zach Johnson wins this year's Masters. How did he do it? Was this the most boring Masters ever? And how'd the staff do in predicting the outcome? Find out.

As discussed last week I would like to try to use the 40-30-20-10 Rule to predict the outcome of this week's tournament…along with discussing some minor tweaks to the formula in order to accomplish this task.

My predecessor, Dave Koster, came up with a math formula which weighed some important stats. This week, I put his formula to the test.

The Golf Channel debuted their Win Zone statistical system during the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Is it really as accurate as they say it is?

If Tiger Woods played you, how many strokes would he be giving up to make a fair match? The answer may shock you.

In my last article comparing field strength between Tiger and Phil, I found that the Official World Golf Rankings archive only showed the top 200 players in the world. Because of this simple fact, as Erik pointed out, the numbers in the previous article are skewed.

The debate over whether Tiger Woods plays stronger field events than Phil Mickelson is about to come to an end. Well, maybe not, but perhaps this will provide some food for thought and show who plays better in stronger field.

What better place to start my run as the Numbers Game columnist than with the Official World Golf Rankings. In this column I hope to shed some light on a couple of things.

Over the past year or so, I've covered a lot in The Numbers Game. Driving distance, the 40-30-20-10 rule, all were fun to research and write about. Next year, someone else will take the reins and still have plenty of numbers to look at.

More little tidbits of info show us that Tiger is still the best and that even guys who are the worst in one stat can still win tournaments.

There were some players that surprised us with their play and some that disappointed. Tiger and Lorena Ochoa were on another level in 2006.

The numbers in 2006 show a slowdown in distance and more accuracy from players. These trends are small in effect compared to the drop in tournaments played by golf's top players… which could mean a strange situation for the FedEx Cup.

With the last tournament starting today, all eyes will be on those wanting to get into or stay in the top 30 and top 125.

We had a great time last week at The Newport Cup. I made some new friends and took away a few numbers for this week's column.

After the Ryder Cup I thought it would be interesting to compare the European Tour and the PGA Tour. Players participating on both tours provided interesting, and somewhat strange results.

So what does it take to win on tour? Greens and putting once again rule. With all the talk about distance, are you surprised?

I thought it was time I took another peak at what's in the winner's bags on the PGA Tour. Thanks to the number one player in the world, a certain company based in Oregon has taken the lead.

Volume two of Nuggets gives us some insight into a couple injured players trying to recover, interesting facts about Tiger and sheds some light on the Euro Ryder Cup selection.

Good, bad and ugly. It can be found in the pro's game and our game as well. In the last few weeks, there's been plenty of each kind of golf.

Lehman got exactly what he wanted. Two consistent golfers with great short games. Time will tell, but I think he made the right choice.

Sometimes you have to look at the past to look into the future. The PGA Championship in 1999 was mostly about Tiger and Sergio, but there were a few other guys that had good weeks back then that need it now.

Jack and Tiger. Tiger and Jack. When looking at their victories over the years, they are both impressive. Tiger seems to be ahead, but Jack still has something to say about it.

It may not be your top ten, but these are the ten courses I want to play the most.

There are always some interesting numbers to look at after a major championship. Tiger showed he could win in a different manner and the Ryder Cup outlook changed as well.

Hoylake is a bit of an unknown. That doesn't keep us from trying to figure out what might happen.

There has been a drop in distance off the tee this year and now we only have eleven golfers averaging more than 300 yards per drive.

Winged Foot provided some of the highest scoring since the 70s. Thanks to that, there were some fun facts and numbers.

The U.S. Open became the U.S. Open in 1974 with the Massacre at Winged Foot. Since then, the winners have not suffered as much but it has easily remained the most difficult major no matter the decade.

A couple of readers chimed in on the 40-30-20-10 rule and had some interesting thoughts. In answering them, it helps explain, define and prove why I set it up the way I did.

This year's Senior PGA Championship made me think about how the last major tour would stand up to the 40-30-20-10 rule. It turns out that it fits just as good - or even better - than the PGA and LPGA Tours.

The FedEx Cup is coming next year but that doesn't mean we can't take a peek this year as to how the points system will work. There are a few things that can be tweaked, but it should be fun and interesting to watch.

Understanding a course's slope rating, calculating your anti-handicaps, and a little knowledge can go a long way towards winning a few more bets.

Spending a day at the Wachovia Championship was a great way to end the week and catch a few numbers in the process. Unfortunately, one is the number of days we got to go due to low number on the thermometer.

Just about all types of golfers will have over 50% of their shots from on or near the green. So why don't most of us practice that way?

If history is any indicator, Phil's chances at a three in a row are pretty slim. Only two before have done it and to make things worse only five golfers since 1978 have won a second major in the same year they won the Masters.

Sean O'Hair and Lucas Glover came straight out of Q-School last year and not only won, but had superb years as well. This year it is more of the same for Glover but a different story for O'Hair.

You always think about some things while watching a golf tournament. I jotted a few things down that I wanted to look at after the Masters about Tiger, Phil, Freddy and the course.

Every true golf fan loves the Masters. Some of my favorite golf moments are from watching the events unfolding in Augusta.

The Big 5 are preparing for the Masters in a couple weeks. The numbers give us a bit of insight into what to expect… and don't think it will be Tiger going low early or Phil finishing like a thoroughbred.

The Masters is right around the corner. Here's a little warmup for some numbers to watch while you watch.

There are some surprises and some non-surprises in the second volume of "What's in the Bag?"

You expect big guys to hit it a long way, but sometimes there are some little guys that show a bit of pop. This week we find out who is the longest hitter pound-for-pound on the PGA Tour this year.

We've had eight winners on tour so far and they have been a variety of players… some long, some short. Some people have focused in on one type of player and ignored the rest. The numbers of all eight show us that things really haven't changed.

Michelle Wie may want to compete on the PGA Tour, but her game does not compare to Tiger, Ernie and Vijay. There are other golfers that she can model her game after if she continues competing against the men.

Golf is a great source of exercise. Whether you walk or ride, you are burning calories. The only problem is that we often consume quite a bit on the golf course as well.

Tiger and Annika are the most dominant players in the world. If you compare one against the other though, Annika dominantes a bit more but Tiger still leads in major victories.

Myths are just that until we look a little closer at them. Sometimes they can be busted, sometimes they can be proven… and sometimes they remain that way.

There are two values of your golf bag, its real value and its sentimental value.

Will David Duval keep his card? That's the question a lot of golf fans are asking. After his first tournament, there were some good and bad things I took away, but overall, things are looking better.

The numbers on the LPGA tour show the same characteristics as the PGA Tour and in some ways is more consistent and telling. The data also proves the 40-30-20-10 rule once again.

Looking into the past may gives us a better idea what will happen in the future. 11 years worth of data shows us a few things.

Which driving stat helps GIR more, accuracy or distance? Does hitting more GIR mean your putting will suffer? Both are good questions stemming from some comments and forum threads last week that are answered.

Sergio has lost his way when it comes to putting. At one time he was among the leaders on tour and not he is near the bottom of the list. Now that he is striking the ball as well as anyone on tour, it is time for Sergio to get back his stroke and take the next step towards greatness.

There are all kinds of little factoids out there. Spending a lot of time researching numbers, I've come across a few that I found intersting. You might as well.

'Flog' may be golf spelled backwards, but it isn't backwards golf. There isn't much advantage to this style of golf, but it is here to stay.

Using the results of the Tour Championship, I devise the 40-30-20-10 rule for determine a golfer's finishing position.

The top 30 golfers on tour this year have fit right into the mold of previous findings and research. Greens in Regulation continues to be the leading factor in earnings.

There are two weeks left for the top 30 to be decided. Who will be in and who will be left out? We can rule out a few, but the rest are going to fight to the finish.

The Newport Cup was a fun experience. This golfer came away with some good memories and a few numbers to talk about.

We've come up with the formulas and figured out how to rate the players in Power, Accuracy, Short game and Putting. All that's left to do is tabulate the data and see where it takes us. Will it be better than what the PGATour.com put out there? That is for you to decide.

Power, Accuracy, Short Game and Putting skills can be measured. While it may not be an exact science, formulas can be developed to track these and rank players. Can we trust them though?

How can you rate skills? PGATour.com tried recently but it doesn't make sense. Power, Accuracy, Short Game and Putting can and should be measured differently.

Twenty two percent of the best courses in the country are in the two most populated states. This doesn't seem fair, but if you count only public courses, thing look better and even a couple surprises appear.

The Presidents Cup is around the corner and judging by the experience of the US golfers and lack thereof on the International team, the US team should come away with a victory. The problem is that advantages never seem to mean anything in Ryder or Presidents Cups.

The same rules apply to this amateur golfer that does the players on tour: Greens and Putting.

A players are looking to breakout and have a strong finish to the 2005 year. Here are a couple may surprise you.

Tiger Woods is an astounding creature. Let's have a look at his statistics to see if we can determine why - and how - Tiger goes on being Tiger.

Distance was a factor, but did not rule the PGA Championship. It is still all about hitting greens.

Baltusrol is being called a beast this year. According to the numbers, Tiger should be able to tame it and win this year's PGA but there are a few other golfers that could make a run at it.

Fairways and Greens? That may not apply to today's game. Looking at the numbers, golfers should change that line of thinking.

The PGA Tour's stats website has a lot more information than I previously imagined. Let's take a look at some of the more obscure stats on tour.

Instead of crunching the statistics this week, we take a peek inside the bags of Tour winners.

What do the numbers behind driving tell us? Lower scores? More winnings? The answers may surprise you a bit.

Numbers from past Opens provide some insight into this how this year may play out.

Numbers are everywhere in golf, but can they be used to help our game?