The first month of 2022 has passed, and the first 13 games have also been hurriedly turned over. So, what do we learn from these games? What do these numbers portend? How do we predict the rest of the season?
(The next golf star is coming)
The drought of the champion of the "Z" name is almost over
It's been 30 years since players whose last names begin with "Z" won the PGA Tour.
Will Saratoris nearly ended the drought at the Farmers Insurance Open before losing to Luke Liszt on the first hole of the extra hole.
Even so, Saratoris' breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour seemed imminent. He is currently in the top 10 in three consecutive games and in the top 20 in the first two games of the season, which proves that last year's Masters runner-up was not a fluke.
(Saratoris, who has been hot recently)
He can also play very low numbers of strokes, setting court records twice this season — a 11 in the second round of the Sanderson Farm Championship at Jackson Country Club and a -11 in the second round of the American Express at the Nicklaus Championship.
Equally convincing, his total kick-off to green points (2.094 per round) and green perimeter points (1.237) lead the PGA Tour, with a total of strokes (1.899) in fifth place.
He was 17th in the FedEx Cup standings, and Saratoris had planned to compete in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Amateur Matchup, but was forced to quit after testing positive for COVID-19.
If he continues to play well after his comeback, it's only a matter of time before he becomes the eighth PGA Tour champion to start with the "Z" letter.
Who wins the most in the group of letters beginning with "Z"? No doubt It was Fuzzy Zoeller. The two-time Grand Slam winner has won 10 times in his career, and his last victory was in 1986. Larry Ziegler, Kermit Zarley and Al Zimmerman each had three wins, while Zokol, Steve Zappe and Eldred Zimmerman each had one.
Saratoris, 25, is shining, often getting into the competition on his own terms. He is also fighting for a seat in this year's U.S. Cup; as of Feb. 1, he is currently 13th in points.
The only time he was last now was when the players were introduced in alphabetical order.
(Saratoris, 25, is shining)
California pros love races on the West Coast
Maybe it's because it's comfortable on the early ripening grass green. It may also be because of the proximity to home and the support of hometown fans. What is clear is that native-born Californians thrive in his hometown.
Of the PGA Tour's California events over the past three seasons, the highest cumulative scores have been made by Marfrik McNeely and Patrick Cantley. After Dollysson's Farmers Insurance Open, the duo's cumulative record reached -99.
McNeely grew up in Northern California and attended Stanford University. Cantelli grew up in Southern California and attended UCLA. While McNeely is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, Cantley has already had six. Of course, he is also the defending champion of the FedEx Cup.
As of now, there is one race left on the West Coast Tour in February – the Genesis Invitational. Both players will fight on their favorite court.
Speaking in the race preparation phase at Pebble Beach, Cantley said: "I love playing in California, I definitely feel at home. ...... Whenever I play precocious greens on a course like Pebble Beach, it feels like I've been playing on a pitch like this all my life. ”
(Patrick Cantley)
Four of McNeely's six top-ten finishes on the PGA Tour were in California, including runners-up at Pebble Beach last year, when he lost to Daniel Berg. What's more — the four top ten were won in 18 games in California; the other two top ten were in 56 games in non-California.
In addition, McNeely's green rate on par in California is 4 percentage points higher than his overall average.
Of course, there are other non-Californians who seem to thrive on the West Coast, including Spanish player Joan Ram and Australia's Jenson Day, both of whom are battling for the title in Dollysson. Lahm has finished in California over the past three seasons with a -98; since 2014, Day has finished in the top five in 11 of California's 23 career games, the most of any player in that period.
in Dyy
The green side of the battle - Ren Chengzai
One of the reasons Ren Chengzai finished third in the FedEx Cup standings was an improvement in his short-bar performance.
In the first 13 games of the season (8 games), the South Korean star ranked second in the number of short strokes. The greens scored an average of 0.746 on the pitch per round, a result achieved in 27 rounds. The leader in the category is Jim Knous, who has an average of 1.069 in the nine rounds.
(The best on the field)
A year ago, Ren chengzai ranked 142nd in the category, averaging -0.079 per round. The year before that, he was ranked 92nd in the category at 0.007 — essentially on par with the PGA Tour average.
When he won the Holy Land Brotherhood Children's Hospital Open last October, Ren Attributed his outstanding performance in the race to the digging pole, which he won with a score of -24.
The rest of Ren's game has always been excellent or solid; the short shot is his weakness. Apparently, he has solved the problem.
A few weeks later, florida swing season is just around the corner, so don't be surprised if Ren chengzai overtakes Hideki Matsuyama in the standings. Ren usually plays well in the Sunshine State — his other PGA Tour victory was at the 2020 Honda Classic, where he finished in the top 25 last year.