As the new PGA Tour season is set to begin, we continue to recap last season and the players that had a major impact on the Tour schedule. An important stat in today’s golf game is Greens in Regulation (GIR), which means any part of your golf ball is touching the putting surface, and the number of strokes taken is at least two fewer than par. We take a look at the top four from the 2022 year, and how they fared on Tour this season.
4 – Russell Knox (71.41%)
The 37-year-old was fourth in GIR percentage on Tour last season, and it paid off by cashing in on 18 of 28 events played. Unfortunately for Knox, he struggled with the flat stick, finishing 179th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Still, the GIR percentage led to a 96 ranking in the FedEx Cup Standings and a pair of top-10 finishes. Knox’s best finishes included a T6 at THE PLAYERS and T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
3 – Jon Rahm (71.59%)
One of the top players in the world, the No. 6 player in the Official World Golf Rankings, had a successful 2022 season. Rahm was unable to add a second major championship to his resume, but he did find success at the inaugural Mexico Open in May.
The 27-year-old from Spain played in 19 events, missing just one cut (his first event at the Fortnite Championship). Of those 18 made cuts, Rahm finished in the top 25 thirteen times and top 10 eight times.
His GIR percentage was coupled with the fact that he was the best on TOUR SG: Off-the-Tee and seventh in SG: Total. Rahm was second in GIR percentage the previous season.
2 – Corey Conners (71.90%)
The Canadian has long been one of the top ball-strikers on TOUR, and it paid off this season, ranking second in GIR percentage. Like Knox, the putter was Conners’ enemy last season, ranking 136th in SG: Putting and giving nearly a stroke back to the field.
Even with his putting woes, Conners was able to cash in on 20 of 25 events, including 12 top-25 finishes. The highlights of his season were a T6 at the Masters and a third-place finish at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Conners finished 26th in the FedEx Cup Standings, advancing to the TOUR Championship for the second season in a row.
1 – Scottie Scheffler (72.29%)
It is no surprise that the No. 1 ranked player in the world also finished atop the GIR percentage for 2022. Scheffler was one of the hottest names in golf, winning four times in a span of two months and ascending the world rankings. One of those victories came at Augusta National, picking up his first major title.
Scheffler made 21 of 25 cuts and turned those made cuts into 18 top-25 finishes and 11 top-10s. In addition to his Green Jacket, the 26-year-old picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open and added wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
