- May 07, 2003
PGA TOUR
- We don't keep records on such things, but it seems likely that this is the first time in TOUR history that three lefties have been among the Top 20 money winners. Mike Weir is #2 on the list followed by Steve Flesch at #8 and Phil Mickelson at #18.
- David Frost finished in a T8 last week at the HP Classic of New Orleans to equal his best finish since he T7 at the 1999 British Open.
- Jay Haas often cites his improved putting as the reason for his resurgence over the past two seasons. Here's a little proof. In 2000, Haas averaged 29.19 putts per round while hitting 63.1% of the greens in regulation. In 2003, Haas has averaged only 27.61 putts while hitting a higher percentage of GIR's, 64.5%.
- Who one-putts the most often on TOUR? Brian Gay -- 45.9% of the time. The TOUR average, by the way, is 37.7%.
- This week's Wachovia Championship is the first new tournament to debut in the spring since the 1976 Memorial Tournament.
- Looking for an early candidate as the most improved player? How about Woody Austin? He's already won a career-best $890,169 as has three Top-10 finishes in his last five starts -- a T8 at the Honda Classic, a playoff-loss at the MCI Heritage Classic and a solo 7th last week at the HP Classic of New Orleans.
CHAMPIONS TOUR<
- Two players -- Miller Barber and Bob Charles -- shot their age last week at the Bruno's Memorial Classic. Barber (72) had an opening-round 71 while Charles (67) had a second-round 65.
- When Tom Jenkins won last week in Birmingham, he continued two streaks.
One, he was the 12th different winner of the event in 12 seasons and two, he was the 10th different winner in 10 events this season on the Champions Tour -- a new record to start the year.
- The Champions Tour returns to Austin, TX this week for the inaugural Kinko's Classic of Austin. It could be a breakthrough week for Tom Kite. The Texas native, and Austin resident, has won 25 times on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, but never in his home state.
- More on Austin: Kite is not the only local resident in the field. He's joined by Ben Crenshaw, Tom Jenkins, Terry Dill and Steve Veriato.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
- When Tripp Isenhour won last week's BMW Charity Pro-Am at the Cliffs it ended a two-year winning streak for Clemson alums. However, as a Georgia Tech alum, he did extend the ACC's victory streak at The Cliffs to three.
- Steve Flesch's victory last week on the PGA TOUR was the 128th win on TOUR by a Nationwide Tour alum, but it wasn't the only victory by an alum last week. Tom Jenkins' win on the Champions Tour was the 41st victory on that Tour by an alum.
- A second-round 67 by Jack Nicklaus last week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs was highlighted by a finishing stretch in which he one-putted the final 10 holes.
- One more Nicklaus: He and son Steve combined the win the Pro-Celebrity portion of the tournament last week in South Carolina.
SHOTLINK STAT OF THE WEEK
The new ShotLink Stats allow us to see who has the highest percentage of 300-yard drives.
Here are the numbers:
Measured Drives Only
- Retief Goosen..........69.6%
- Phil Mickelson..........69.4%
All Drives
- Phil Mickelson ...........51.6%
- Retief Goosen ...........45.0%
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