GoDaddy Billionaire Founder Bob Parsons On His Passion For Golf And Motorcycles

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.

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Bryson DeChambeau settled for a 5-under 67 after an up-and-down round left him tied for the lead with Patrick Cantlay at the BMW Championship.

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SILVIS, Ill. — Steve Wheatcroft shot a career-best 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead in the John Deere Classic. Wheatcroft birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish a shot ahead of Michael Kim. Johnson Wagner, Nick Taylor, Andres Romero and Joel Dahmen shot opening-round 64s. Francesco Molinari, who won the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago, was among a group of players three strokes back. Zach Johnson shot 69 and three-time John Deere winner Steve Stricker finished at 1-under 70. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, the highest-ranked player in the field, withdrew because of a right shoulder injury. DeChambeau, who won the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide earlier this season, first tweaked his shoulder on a shot out of the rough on the second hole. He pulled out after an awkward tee shot on No. 16. “Look, I’m 24. I’m not that old. But I’ve used my body quite a bit. I’ve hit a lot of golf balls,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve just got to take care of my body a little better.” Wheatcroft hasn’t had a top-10 finish this season, and he’s 209th in the FedExCup standings. But Wheatcroft caught fire on the back nine, finishing with six straight birdies — including a 13-foot putt on the par-4 18th — for just his third round in the 60s this season. Wheatcroft’s previous best scores on the PGA TOUR were 64s at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic and the 2016 Canadian Open. “I tried to keep the round going. I asked if we could just go to the first tee and start round two,” Wheatcroft said. “No, I don’t know if I’ve ever done that to finish a round. It was great. Yeah, I would just try to keep doing what I’m doing.” Although he hasn’t done it on the PGA TOUR, the 40-year-old Wheatcroft has a history of going low. He shot an 11-under 60 and set what was then the 72-hole Web.com Tour scoring record in his runaway 2011 victory at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open. Kim, who like Wheatcroft is buried deep in the standings at 161st, notched six birdies on the back nine. The 24-year-old former Cal star is also seeking his first career win. “Been struggling with the putter a little bit, but (I) got a good mental note from the morning warmup (Thursday) and rolled it great,” said Kim, who holed three putts of at least 20 feet, including a 41-footer on No. 18. Johnson completed his 38th straight round of par or better at TPC Deere Run. But he knows he’ll need to do better than 2 under on Friday at a course known for low scores. “I mean, I can’t take this course for granted. That’s the one thing I don’t ever want to do. Just because I’ve had success here or I’ve had low rounds here, doesn’t mean it’s just going to happen,” Johnson said.  

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