Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but in a sports world driven by analytics, they can certainly tell part of it. Last year on the PGA Tour, a few statistics said a lot about the seasons of some of the best players in the world, some good, some bad, but all telling.
Key numbers that stand out for the 2018 season:
0 – The number of points won by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for Team USA in the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National.
1 – Francesco Molinari created history by becoming the first Italian to win a major after clinching the Claret Jug 147th Open.
2 – Bryson DeChambeau joined Vijay Singh as the only player to have won the first two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship.
3 – Justin Rose celebrates winning the FedEx Cup. Becoming the third European winner of the lucrative FedEx Cup as the Englishman made birdie at the 18th in the Tour Championship final round.
4 – There have been four different players who have reached the summit of the world rankings in 2018. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka have held the standing.
4.57 – Tiger Woods’ par-5 scoring average. The number matches the worst mark in Woods’ career; in 2013 he also had a 4.57 average. This mark had him tied for 24th. The worst standing of his career in the category.
5 – Brooks Koepka became just the fifth player to win the US Open and PGA Championship in the same year, after Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
6 – The number of players who at least had a share of the lead during a thrilling final round of The Open at Carnoustie.
7 – The margin of victory for Thomas Bjorn’s European side as they regained the Ryder Cup with a convincing victory over Jim Furyk’s Team USA.
9 – Georgia Hall ended a nine-year wait for a British winner of the Women’s British Open as she claimed victory at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
9 – Number of times the World No. 1 ranking changed hands in 2018, the most times since the ranking’s inception in 1986. The four players who passed it around? Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka, who currently holds the title.
11 – The number of first-time winners on the European Tour in 2018.
11 – Number of players who ended win droughts on the tour. They are as follows, from longest dry spell to shortest: Charles Howell III, Paul Casey, Kevin Na, Keegan Bradley, Ted Potter, Jr., Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, and Gary Woodland.
11 – Number of top-10 finishes without a victory for Tony Finau. The 29-year-old became the first golfer to have at least 11 top-10s and no wins since Jim Furyk, who did the same in both 2014 and 2009.
11 – Number of first-time winners on the PGA Tour last season: Ryan Armour, Patrick Cantlay, Patton Kizzire, Austin Cook, Brice Garnett, Satoshi Kodaira, Andrew Landry, Aaron Wise, Michael Kim, Francesco Molinari and Andrew Putnam.
24.5 (2:45) – Sergio Garcia became Europe’s all-time record Ryder Cup points scorer after defeating Rickie Fowler in the Sunday singles at Le Golf National.
32.5 – Average number of spots Tiger Woods jumped in the Official World Golf Ranking after each event he played beginning with the 2017 Hero World Challenge and ending with the 2018 Hero.
59 – Oliver Fisher celebrates with his scorecard after carding the first round of 59 in European Tour history.
75.3 – The field scoring average on Saturday at the U.S. Open, a day in which 19 players shot 78 or worse at Shinnecock Hills.
76 – After 18 years on tour, Angela Stanford finally won her first major by securing the Evian Championship on her 76th major start on tour.
80 – Woods won his 80th PGA Tour title at the season-ending Tour Championship for his first victory in over five years and arguably his most memorable success.
953 – Danny Willett ended a 953-day wait for a first title since his Masters success in April 2016 with victory at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
1,666 – After a wait of one thousand six hundred and sixty-six days, Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar both won events for the first time since April 20, 2014.
9 MILLION – Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods went head to head in The Match at Shadow Creek for a $9,000,000 cash prize!
$451,704.33 — Average amount of money Justin Rose made per start on the PGA Tour this season, not including the $10 million FedEx Cup prize.
