Numbers that mattered: Houston OpenNumbers that mattered: Houston Open
Lanto Griffin secured his first PGA TOUR victory at the Houston Open and took over the lead in the FedExCup. Griffin, 31, has finished in the top 20 in all five starts this season. In today’s edition of the Stats Insider, we’ll take a closer look at Griffin’s win and his consistent start to the season. 1. MOVING UP: Griffin won in his 33rd start on the PGA TOUR. He played his first PGA TOUR season in 2017, finishing 171st in the FedExCup. He made just half his cuts that season and had just one top-25 finish (T12, 2018 Farmers Insurance Open). After missing 15 of his first 20 cuts on the PGA TOUR, Griffin has now made 13 in a row dating back to his rookie season. The victory was his first top-10 on the PGA TOUR. Here’s a comparison of his Strokes Gained statistics from his rookie season to this season: GRIFFIN’S STROKES GAINED STATISTICS 2. SHORT STUFF: Griffin has improved in each aspect of his game. The biggest improvement has been in his putting. Griffin finished seventh in Strokes Gained: Putting at the Houston Open. He has finished in the top 10 of that statistic in four of his five starts this season. Before this season, he’d never finished in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting. No one else has finished in the top 10 of Strokes Gained: Putting in more than two events this season. GRIFFIN’S PUTTING PERFORMANCES THIS SEASON The biggest stroke of the week may have been the 33-foot birdie putt he made on the 16th hole on Sunday. It was a perfect time to hole his longest putt of the week. His biggest improvement since his rookie season has been in the short- and mid-range putts. That was evident on the final hole, when Griffin made a 6-foot putt to seal the one-stroke victory. GRIFFIN’S PUTTING IMPROVEMENT * – among players with at least 12 rounds 3. ENGLISH’S PATIENCE: Harris English continued his strong start to the season with a fourth-place finish in Houston. It was his third top-10 in four starts this season. He also finished T3 at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier and T6 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. English now ranks ninth in the FedExCup. He finished 149th in last season’s FedExCup after not recording a top-10. Entering this season, English had just three top-10s since the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic, a span of 68 events. English has had success this season with his approach play. He’s hit 81% of his greens, the most of anyone who’s played at least 10 rounds this season. English led the Houston Open field in greens hit (59 of 72). He’s finished third, second, seventh and first in that statistic in his last four starts.
