Sophomore Slump

Last year we had a couple of rookies that burst onto the scene. Sean O’Hair and Lucas Glover both got onto the Tour last year by going through and surviving the rigors of Q-School. Both won over $2 million and made the Tour Championship in 2005… not too bad in your first year.

So, how are they faring this year? Looking at how they performed last year, one would think that they are going to have nothing but more success. Read on to find out who is struggling and who is continuing their great play.

Money, Money, Money
One of the biggest stories from last year was Sean O’Hair. Not only from the extreme youth aspect but the extreme paternal urging and advising as well. Sean split from his father and can now easily support himself (and a few others) with the nearly $2.5 million he won last year.

Lucas Glover also had a great run last year. The biggest difference between him and O’Hair is that Glover didn’t get his win until late in the year, making his entry into the Tour Championship a bit uncertain until then. O’Hair was much more consistent in 2005, missing only four cuts in 28 tournaments where Glover missed 12 in the same amount of tournaments.

Enter 2006. Things are looking quite a bit different. Here are their earnings through The Heritage in 2005 and 2006:

                 2006          2005
                 ----          ----
O'Hair       $209,762      $156,054
Glover     $1,013,254      $348,556

OK. So they are both ahead of last year, but Glover is certainly building on what was a great rookie campaign. O’Hair on the other hand is struggling somewhat. Not only is he barely ahead of where he was last year, but O’Hair has missed six of 12 cuts. Sean’s earnings thus far are a bit inflated because he took home $72,000 from the Mercedes Championship simply for showing up. I’m hoping Sean will turn it around but he’s got a ways to go.

Stats
Let’s start with the good, shall we? Lucas Glover has not only made a bunch of money to begin the year but he’s been statistically very consistent.

Glover isn’t a bottom feeder in any stat… but he also isn’t in the top 20 of any individual statistic. When you look at the combined stats such as Total Driving and All-Around Ranking, his solid play starts to show in the numbers.

Driving Distance        43
Driving Accuracy        64
Total Driving           10
Greens in Regulation    59
Putting Average         29 
Total Putts             43
All-Around Ranking       7

That’s a nice set of numbers as evidenced by the “7” in the all-around ranking. So what’s the big difference from last year? First, his driving. Yes he’s in the top 10 in Total Driving, but he went from being an infamous “flogger” (12th in Driving Distance and 138th in driving accuracy) to a shorter (by about 8 yards) and more accurate driver of the ball – 63.3% versus 60.7%.

The second thing that Glover has improved significantly is his putting. Not only did his Putting Average drop, but Total Putts dropped as well. In 2005 he was 79th in Putting Average and 118th in Total Putts. Lucas Glover has gone from the flogging lifestyle to a solid all-around player and is enjoying the benefits. Sean O’Hair on the other hand, has not.

O’Hair, statistically, has been ugly this year.

Driving Distance         79
Driving Accuracy        127
Total Driving           131
Greens in Regulation    152
Putting Average         174 
Total Putts             175
All-Around Ranking      172

Honestly, I don’t know if there is anything positive I can say about the above numbers. Driving, irons, putting… it’s all ugly. I was hoping for some silver lining, but it may only appear in the future.

Last year, O’Hair was a much better striker of the ball. In the ball-striking stat, which combines Total Driving and Greens in Regulation, he was 26th. He was longer off the tee as well. All of these areas have suffered in 2006.

His struggling on the green has continued as well. Putting can be the great equalizer, but dropping from 149th to 174th in Putting Average is only going to tilt the balance from “player” to “hacker.” It is unfortunate because if Sean was going to focus on one area this year, it was definitely putting.

Where has your game gone Sean?

Thoughts
Not to toot my own horn, but I did (sort of) predict that this was going to happen. Back in December, O’Hair was the first guy I thought of out of the top 50 that would struggle. I also said that Glover was the better of the two. So far, I’m being proved right.

The good thing for Sean is that he is young. Very young. The first year was a whirlwind for him and he has yet to catch his breath. Even with his struggles, I fully expect him to collect himself and finish the year off well. I don’t think he will be in the top 32, but he showed that he has a great game. All he has to do is find it.

Photo Credits: © AP, © Stephen Szurlej