A look into a PGA Champion's Data

What a week for a PGA Championship! One I’m sure many will want to bookmark and look back on. From a historic low round in a major championship, to a top player scrambling to make it to his tee-time after a quick stint behind bars, there's been no shortage of drama.

Though Xander Schauffele didn’t have as an “exciting” morning as Scottie Scheffler on Friday, he definitely had quite the extraordinary round on Thursday to kick off the major-championship. Xander fired an arousing 62 to tie the record low major championship round, though it’s not his first knock at it, as he fired a 62 at last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. (We might have to wager on him firing a 62 at Pinehurst next month…)

Let’s take a deeper dive into what that round looked

(https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/2024/pga-championship/R2024033/leaderboard)

The pros are able to track their data through a system exclusively, only available to TOUR pros, called ShotLink. (Interested in tracking your game just like the pros, check out Arccos).  As we look into Xander’s round 1 stats, we can see he gained over 9 strokes against the field, with a majority of his strokes coming from his putting at 4.2. 

Going into the tournament, many figured the longer hitters would likely excel on the course. While Xander wasn’t one of the top drivers on Thursday, he was definitely accurate off the tee while still boasting an average drive of 313 yards. 

But what really seemed to shine was his phenomenal short game and being able to sink putts throughout the day. Schauffele finished tied for 2nd in putts per green in regulation. 

From there he  weathered the storm, keeping a steady and consistent pace throughout the next 3 days. Though he gave the crowd chattering teeth coming into 18 tied for the lead, a shot that had grazed the edge of the bunker, left him an up and down opportunity to win.  Based on how well his short game was all weekend - the odds were definitely in his favor.

Great playing Xander!