This can be explained by the design of the greens and the firm conditions that they can play in. That is the average Green in Regulation percentage for players at this event since 2012, which is well below the Tour average. Here is a comparison of those top 15 golfers and the amount of strokes they have gained off the tee in their last 8 rounds compared to their last 50:ĥ8.9%. Furthermore, amongst this group, we want to parse out who is hitting the driver well as of late compared to how they typically strike it. To do this, I thought it best to take a look at the top 15 players in the field over the last 36 rounds in SG:OTT. We can consider the ability to get off the tee well or SG: OTT as more of a pre-requisite for success at this course than an added advantage – here is a rolling report of SG: OTT for this week’s field in the last 2 years: Source: īeyond who is strong and who is weak off the tee, we want to identify who has the best chance to really overpower this course. The goal with the driver at TPC San Antonio, for most of these players, is to get as far down the fairway/rough as possible so that the second shot into these tricky greens is easier. The need to get off the tee accurately is a bit negated here because the rough is rather easy to play out of. Off the tee play should have heightened importance this week with the extreme length of the course. Here is a comparison of this week’s venue to the PGA Tour average event: The average SG per round of Ball-Striking for Top 5 finishers here since 2012 is 1.64, slightly above the amount for SG per round Short Game at 1.58. There is no easy way to make your way around this course so it is imperative as a player this week to either be very strong off the tee or on approach, we have seen players win both ways at TPC San Antonio. These long Par 5s force a lot of layups and an increased amount of wedge shots as a result. Par 5 scoring is essential to performing well at this event but you will not see many eagle chances most of the Par 5s measure over 550 yards if not over 600 yards. The highest birdie rates at TPC San Antonio come from the Par 5 14th, 2nd, and 18th holes as well as the sometimes driveable Par 4 17th. While both the Par 5s and Par 3s provide a challenge with their length, it is four Par 4s (Holes 4,1,9, and 15) that average the highest historic bogey rate. During years when the winds are strong, this event has ranked in the Top 5 toughest all year. The greens at this event consistently rank among the Top 10 toughest to hit on Tour. The greens at TPC San Antonio feature multiple tiers with sharp edges and funnel areas next to the green that punishes players for most missed GIR. The length of these holes and the difficult challenge these greens present makes scoring tough to come by. The fairways in San Antonio are fairly narrow but the rough is not as penal as the tough Florida courses we saw most recently. The name of the game at this course is distance, specifically off the tee. This is now the only Greg Norman-designed course played on the Tour and features the same type of unique Bermudagrass greens with overseeded Poa Trivials that we see at the other TPC courses. The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio has one of the more unique course designs on the schedule. The PGA Tour continues its stay in Texas this week, moving over to TPC San Antonio and bringing with it a return to stroke play format.
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