BOGEYBREAKERS ^TM

Over the course of a season, it is likely that less than half the time the winner would be the player with the most birdies and better (the Gross Negative Score, (GNS)). So who does win? Most of the time it is the player who makes the fewest mistakes over 72 holes that is the player with the fewest bogeys and worse (the Gross Positive Score, (GPS)).

And what is possibly the least important statistic? Most likely it is driving distance.

Here are some of the most dramatic statistics from the 2009 PGA Tour:

1. At the Honda Classic (March 5-8) the winner Y.E. Yang would have tied 11 others for 12th place if GNS determined the winner.
2. At the Transitions Championship (March 19-22) the winner Retief Goosen would have tied 14 others for 19th place.
3. Brian Gay had the lowest GNS and won the Verizon Heritage (April 16-19) by 10 strokes with only two bogeys in 72 holes. Incidentally, he was 72nd out of 78 in driving distance.
4. Jerry Kelly won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a GNS of -18 which would have tied him with eight others for 12th place. George McNeill also had a GNS of -18. George tied for 67th place.
5. Sean O’Hair won the Quail Hollow Championship (April 30-May 3) with a GNS of -21 which would have tied him with four others for 3rd place. Brandon de Jonge also had a GPS of -21 and he tied for 44th place.
6. Tiger Woods won the BMW Championship with the lowest GNS (-23). J. D. Holmes finished first in two categories, driving distance and most bogeys. He finished 67th.
7. Phil Mickelson won The Tour Championship with the lowest GNS (-20). Phil had an eight on a par four hole in the first round. Who said Phil can’t be patient, at least for one tournament?

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