Strokes Gained (McIlroy): Wells Fargo [pgatour.com]

**nevets88** · May 18, 2015

So while McIlroy says putting was key in the 3rd round, overall, his long game got the win.

http://www.pgatour.com/statsreport/2015/05/18/strokes-gained-wells-fargo.html

After the round, McIlroy said, "There was a couple really things that pleased me today, my iron play and then how I putted. I rolled the ball really well, which I haven't been doing for the past couple of weeks so to see a lot of putts drop like that was really nice." In the round, McIlroy gained 4.8 strokes with his putting (rank 1 for the day), gained 2.5 strokes with his approach shots (rank 3), gained 1.9 strokes with his driving (rank 3), and 0.9 strokes with his short game (rank 16). Referring to the third round, McIlroy said, "I got on a great run there yesterday obviously ... that's what won me the tournament."
For the tournament, McIlroy gained a remarkable 9.4 strokes with his driving, nearly half (47 percent) of his total gain against the field.
...
McIlroy’s approach shots contributed 35 percent to his total gain and putting contributed another 16 percent.

Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)

Rank

Rory McIlroy
Total
Drive
Appr
Short
Putt
out of

2015 Season
2.1 (4)
1.1 (3)
0.6 (20)
0.3 (25)
0.0 (97)
201

Wells Fargo Championship
5.0 (1)
2.3 (1)
1.7 (1)
0.1 (39)
0.8 (20)
73

Round 1
2.2 (44)
2.6 (1)
-1.0 (115)
0.5 (47)
0.1 (75)
156

Round 2
5.2 (4)
1.8 (10)
2.0 (16)
0.7 (39)
0.7 (56)
156

Round 3
10.2 (1)
1.9 (3)
2.5 (3)
0.9 (16)
4.8 (1)
81

Round 4
2.5 (15)
3.1 (1)
3.4 (2)
-1.6 (67)
-2.3 (65)
73

**RandallT** · May 18, 2015

Same link as yours:

	Strokes gained per round (ranks in parentheses)
Golfer	Total	Drive	Appr	Short	Putt
Rory McIlroy	5.0 (1)	2.3 (1)	1.7 (1)	0.1 (39)	0.8 (20)
Webb Simpson	3.3 (T2)	1.1 (7)	0.8 (17)	1.6 (1)	-0.3 (54)
Patrick Rodgers	3.3 (T2)	1.1 (6)	0.8 (19)	0.7 (12)	0.7 (27)
Gary Woodland	2.8 (T4)	-0.2 (56)	1.1 (7)	-0.6 (66)	2.5 (1)
Phil Mickelson	2.8 (T4)	0.3 (30)	-0.5 (67)	1.4 (3)	1.5 (5)
Robert Streb	2.8 (T4)	0.6 (19)	0.1 (47)	-0.2 (51)	2.3 (2)
Justin Thomas	2.5 (T7)	0.0 (48)	1.1 (9)	1.5 (2)	-0.1 (46)
Geoff Ogilvy	2.5 (T7)	0.4 (27)	0.5 (38)	0.1 (40)	1.5 (3)
Kevin Streelman	2.3 (T9)	0.7 (15)	0.3 (43)	0.2 (35)	1.1 (9)
Brendan Steele	2.3 (T9)	1.6 (2)	1.1 (8)	-0.6 (67)	0.1 (43)
Shawn Stefani	2.3 (T9)	1.0 (9)	0.7 (25)	-0.2 (52)	0.8 (23)
Jason Bohn	2.3 (T9)	0.1 (41)	1.2 (6)	0.5 (17)	0.4 (36)
Top 12 average	2.8	0.8	0.7	0.4	0.9
Fraction of total	100%	27%	26%	14%	33%

I found it interesting that 53% of the strokes gained for the top players this week was using the full swing (driver + approach game).

33% putting. 14% short game.

In general for the week, the top players took advantage of their full swing game over the field. In

**RandallT** · May 19, 2015

	Total	Driver	Approach	Short	Putt
Wells Fargo	2.8	0.8	0.7	0.4	0.9
Players	2.4	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.8
RBC Heritage	2.9	0.3	1.0	0.4	1.2
Zurich	2.4	0.5	0.7	0.3	1.0
Shell Houston	2.4	0.7	0.7	0.2	0.9
Honda Classic	2.7	0.3	1.5	0.3	0.6
Arnold Palmer Inv	2.7	0.3	0.9	0.5	1.0
Valspar	2.6	-0.1	1.1	0.3	1.2
WGC Cadillac	2.2	0.5	0.8	0.3	0.5
Valero Texas	3.2	0.7	0.8	0.3	1.4
Northern Trust	2.7	0.4	0.8	0.5	1.0
ATT Pebble Beach	3.9	0.2	1.3	1.1	1.3

TOTAL	2.7	0.4	0.9	0.4	1.0

Thought this was interesting. Every week, the PGA puts out the average strokes gained from the Top 10 or so (sometimes top 9, sometimes top 12) players in the tournament. This chart summarizes those PGA charts from each tournament. I only did a random sample of some tournaments.

Seems pros spend a lot of time working on their short games.... BUT the top 10 of each week achieve "Separation Value" from the full swing (drive+approach=1.3 strokes per round) and putting (1.0 strokes per round). Their short games represent only 0.4/2.7 of their separation from the field.

**saevel25** · May 19, 2015

That's because the player who win have a great week of ball striking and putting. making birdies, limit bogeys. which lowers the short game opportunities and inflates stroke game putting. There are a ton of very good players who can string together 4 very good rounds. It's tough to win consistently on the PGA tour.

**RandallT** · May 20, 2015

That's because the player who win have a great week of ball striking and putting. making birdies, limit bogeys. which lowers the short game opportunities and inflates stroke game putting.

There are a ton of very good players who can string together 4 very good rounds. It's tough to win consistently on the PGA tour.

Good point. If you playing good golf, the number of opportunities for short game will likely go way down, so you'll by definition be better in the other categories. Any week, there are guys who are going to be hot and mostly match that profile. On the tougher tracks like US Open, I'll bet we will see short game numbers rise.

I wonder why Pebble Beach stands out as the course where the top 10 on average used their short game to separate themselves that week.

OT from the OP, I know! Sorry for thread jacking, @nevets88

Your post got me looking at the PGA stats on tournament strokes gained categories!

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Strokes Gained (McIlroy): Wells Fargo [pgatour.com]

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