Viktor Hovland’s mid-tournament switch pays off in Hero win

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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We know that you miss the competition on the PGA TOUR. So, together as we move forward through this hiatus, we will be taking a moment every week to recognize the tournaments that have been postponed or canceled, albeit in the familiar format of the Power Rankings. If you’ve lost track of where we are on the schedule – no matter your devotion as a fan, it’s a reasonable possibility – the Valero Texas Open was scheduled to be contested this week. With 89 editions in the books going back to the Warren Harding administration in 1922, suffice it to say that we’ve launched our special series with as large a database as the state in which the tournament has been held. The commitment is to rank only 10 golfers with honorable mentions who cannot go overlooked. It’s often not easy to limit a traditional Power Rankings to the usual 15, so there could be some solid debate generated when reviewing the entirety of a tournament’s history. As always, you are encouraged to engage in the conversation beneath the file. No doubt many of you are ready to reconnect in that space. I miss it, too. Only tournament success is considered for this version of the Power Rankings. Customary variables such as site and recency bias also do not carry as much influence. Rather, it takes into account era-dependent dominance and consistently strong form over time, but it doesn’t compare eras, project head-to-head considerations or adjust for quality of talent and field depth in any edition. As one example of history made at the Valero Texas Open, Tommy Armour III owns the tournament’s low aggregate of 26-under 254 in 2003. It also was a PGA TOUR record until Justin Thomas went one lower at the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii, but it’s TA3’s only top-10 finish at the VTO in 21 appearances. It was a momentous week to be certain, but he didn’t come close to cracking the Power Rankings. Enjoy! ALL-TIME POWER RANKINGS: VALERO TEXAS OPEN 10. Loren Roberts Twenty-one years after debuting with a T22 in 1981, he prevailed as a 47-year-old in 2002, and then placed T2 in his title defense. Five top fives and two T9s baked into his 15-for-19 record. 9. Ben Hogan After three consecutive runner-up finishes through 1942 and a 27-month stint in the Army during World War II, he returned to Willow Springs Golf Club with victory in 1946. 8. Bill Mehlhorn Nicknamed Wild Bill and often wearing a cowboy hat, his wins in 1928 and 1929 punctuated a run of five straight top-five finishes, but he didn’t place worse than T16 in eight appearances. 7. Ben Crenshaw Won the first of his 19 PGA TOUR titles at Woodlake Golf Club in 1973. Added another victory in this event in 1986. Overall, he went 18-for-22 with six top fives and another two top 10s. 6. Jay Haas Totaled 23 starts and connected for two victories (1982, 1993), two seconds (1996, 1998), two T5s (1983, 1999) and another pair of top 10s. 5. Byron Nelson In eight starts from 1934-1946, he went T2-3rd-Win-T4-T8-T2-2nd-3rd. If there’s an upset, it occurred in 1945 when he won 18 times. His runner-up here was one of seven that season. 4. Sam Snead In five appearances comprising of at least one round on three different courses, he went 3rd-3rd-Win-2nd-Win and scored 86-under. Closed out his latter title in 1950 with a pair of 8-under 63s. 3. Arnold Palmer Six top 10s in just seven appearances, but he won three consecutive editions through 1962, the first year that Oak Hills Country Club hosted. 2. Justin Leonard Three wins, two seconds, a T5, a T10 and two T11s, all in 11 appearances at LaCantera Golf Club’s Resort Course from 1995-2009. His scoring average in 42 rounds on the par 70 was 67.48. 1. Charley Hoffman No. 1 in all-time earnings with a win (2016), two seconds and a third at TPC San Antonio. Two top 10s and a T11 at LaCantera. All told, he’s 14-for-14 with 11 top-15 finishes. HONORABLE MENTIONS • Mike Souchak … Recorded only three top 10s in 13 tries, but he established the 72-hole scoring record in 1955 at 27-under 257 at Brackenridge Park Golf Club. It was a mark that stood for 46 years, but the previous year, also at Brackenridge, Chandler Harper matched the then-record aggregate of 259 first set by Byron Nelson at the 1945 Seattle Open, one of Lord Byron’s 18 victories that season. • Bob Estes … The native Texan made 26 appearances, the first 25 consecutively from 1989-2013. His first TOUR title at Oak Hills in 1994 was one of seven top 10s and 14 top 25s in the event. • Lee Trevino … Because comparing actual dollars won is unfair over time, it’s notable that he reached six figures in tournament earnings with his last payday (T9) in 1983. His five top fives included a $45,000 victory in 1980. • Corey Pavin … Cashed in 16 of 19 appearances with an 11-start peak from 1988-2000 during which he recorded all eight of his top-15 finishes. It included a win (1988) among five top 10s. • Duffy Waldorf … Captured two wins at LaCantera (1995, 1999) among seven top 10s from 1989-2003.

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