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With the Masters two weeks away, the WGC-Dell Match Play is the last event with a marquee field that can help us forecast the year’s first major.
Louis Oosthuizen was forced to withdraw from the European Tour’s Joburg Open after injuring two fingers on his left hand between two airport luggage trolleys.
Welcome to the Stats Insider, where we’ll take a closer look at Adam Scott’s long-awaited (official) win at historic Riviera Country Club. Scott also won here in 2005, but the victory was unofficial because the event was shortened to 36 holes. Riviera rewards ball-striking, and that’s exactly what happened this week. Scott is one of the best iron players in the game and that was on display at the Genesis Invitational. RELATED: Aussie Presidents Cup pact propels Scott | The clubs Scott used to win at Riviera 1. ON THE DANCE FLOOR: Scott finished third in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, behind only Sung Kang and Collin Morikawa. Scott led the field in greens in regulation, hitting two more than anyone else in the field. Riviera’s firm greens annually rank among the toughest to hit on TOUR. The field hit just 56% of the greens last week. That was the lowest greens-hit percentage this season and 12% below the TOUR’s season-long greens-in-regulation percentage. 2. STRONG APPROACH: We shouldn’t be surprised. Adam Scott has been the best iron player on TOUR over the last five seasons. He has the highest Strokes Gained: Approach per round among the 135 players who’ve played at least 200 ShotLink-measured rounds since the start of the 2016 season. 3. GOLDEN OLDIE: Riviera also rewards experience, and Scott is the latest example. He turns 40 on July 16. Since 2010, only The Open Championship has had a higher average age of winners. 4. IN THE WOODS: Tournament host Tiger Woods got off to a promising start, shooting 4-under-par on his opening nine holes. He was 15 over on the next 63 holes, though, and finished last in the field at 11-over 295. This marked the fourth-highest 72-hole score of Woods’ career. 5. PUTTING STRUGGLES: Woods finished second-to-last in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing more than 8 strokes on the greens. It was the worst Strokes Gained: Putting performance of his career. Four of Woods’ five worst Strokes Gained: Putting performances have come since 2018. Woods four-putted the 13th hole in the third round. He also four-putted in his previous start, at the Farmers Insurance Open. Of Woods’ 14 recorded four-putts in his PGA TOUR career, four have come since the 2018 U.S. Open, a span of 82 rounds. It took him more than 1,100 rounds to record his first 10 four-putts on the PGA TOUR. This is just the second season in which Woods has had multiple recorded four-putts. He had four four-putts in 1998. Woods also four-putted Riviera’s 13th hole in 2000, making it the only hole on which he’s recorded multiple four-putts in his career. He went on to win three majors that year.
