Jimmy Walker.

I think a lot of it is confidence after his first win. I'm sure Butch has helped him along the way though!

Is there a statistical basis for that?

Yes. History.

You gonna give even one example?

Kyle Stanley, Spencer Levin, Russell Henley (Hawaii), John Merrick.

I agree... Confidence and winning in anything can (and normally does) achieve great outcomes.... His game from tee to green is solid and has been imho <+>< Ps 46: 1 ><+>

Cough coincidence cough!!

What's a coincidence?

The fact that those who won on the west haven't played well on the east... What about those who have? Tiger? Phil? Vijay?

I'm not saying everyone. There are certain players who get hot at the beginning of the season but lose their game once the Florida swing comes. As I said before, let's see Jimmy Walker prove me wrong. I'd be happy if he did.

I'm sure Butch has a hand in it, but I'll say confidence after the Frys.com win had a bigger impact. I wasn't pleased with how he closed out at pebble though, that was unlike a champion...maybe it's because he's not a seasoned champion yet.

I wish him the best of luck going forward.

P.S. He still isn't getting hyped as much as English, or Speith

Jimmy's had the scores to win for the last couple years - he's been 36th, 57th, 42nd in scoring average the past 3 seasons - he just hasn't despite 15 top tens and that crazy made cut streak he had in '12-'13. Was crazy underrated last year, for example. Never put it together for a full week though. Main thing he's doing this season is hitting his putts; he's at 1.20 strokes gained putting this year after being ~0.30 the previous three seasons. Almost a stroke/round is an enormous difference in terms of scoring - the difference between Tiger and an average Tour pro is like 2.5 strokes the last couple years.

Real question is whether he can keep it up. No one has ever sustained that kind of putting season, or even anywhere close without being a stud putter beforehand. Guessing Walker falls off.

When you hit the ball as long and pretty accurate like Walker your eventually going to be in position to make things happen, I think that once he got that first win under his belt at the Frys it gave him more confidence in his game.  I think Butch has a minimal part in this, he might have strengthened some parts of his game, but more so just gave him confidence that he's good enough to win big tournaments.

I think the lack of tangible rough at Waialae and Pebble Beach has played in Jimmy's hands this season.  He can't hit fairways in any great regularity, but his GIR numbers have been excellent of late and he's always been an excellent putter.  Fair play to him, as over here in the UK, Walker was always being accused of having 'no bottle.' He's had a rich vein of form which can't last forever, but a Ryder Cup berth is already pretty much assured.  Will be interesting to see if he can play Match Play, otherwise he could be a weak link in the US team at Gleneagles.