Vijay’s gross negative score (GNS, the result of adding up birdies and eagles) was -17. His gross positive score (GPS, the result of adding up bogeys, double bogeys and others)) was +5, for the winning minus 12. Phil’s GNS was -12, his GPS +7 for his -5 finish. Tiger on the other hand had a GNS of -18, one stroke better than Vijay but his GPS was +14, for his -4 net. Not at all like Tiger. To what can we attribute Tiger’s erratic play? Guess what? Tiger did something he rarely does, he led the tournament in driving distance but he also tied for the lead in number of double bogeys and came in 29th out of 30 players in driving accuracy.

Tiger wasn’t his usual patient self. He played more like Phil.

Who was patient?

Vijay was. Guess what other statistic Vijay came in tied for first? The fewest number of bogeys.

What does all of this mean for your game? It means that the sooner you start playing the Colonel Bogey Way, the sooner you will shed the Duffer label.

You are probably already getting enough pars and bogeys to have you breaking 100 or even 90 regularly but you are getting too many double bogeys and worse that are keeping you on the high side of 90 or 100.

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) 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 on the money list.
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?

If birdies (and better) determined the winner on the PGA Tour, Heath Slocum (-19 GNS) instead of coming in first, would have tied with 10 others for eighth place at last week’s McGladrey Classic. Jeff Quinney (-21 GNS) would have finished first instead of tying for ninth place and six others (-20 GNS) would have tied for second place. GNS stands for Gross Negative Score, that is, the total of birdies and better. Justin Leonard was one of the six with a GNS of -20. Justin finished tied for 45th place and took home $10,836. Heath (-19) took home $720,000. Justin received $542 for each birdie while Heath received $3,632 per birdie.

How come?

The answer is very simple, and it is true most weeks on the pro tour. Heath had a GPS of +5 while Justin had a GPS of +15 (GPS =Gross Positive Score, i.e. bogeys and worse). Similarly, Scott McCarron who tied Heath in GNS came in tied for 45^th because of a GPS of +13.

Bill Haas’s GNS was only -16, yet Bill finished second and took home $432,000 thanks to an incredible GPS of +3 (three bogeys in 72 holes). Thus, Bill received $2,700 for each birdie compared to Justin’s $542. Alex Hamilton also had a GNS of -16 and thanks to a GPS of +11 tied for 45^th.

Similarly driving distance has very little significance in determining the winner week after week on the PGA Tour. Slocum came in 66^th out of 73 players at the McGladrey. Jeff Quinney, who had the most birdies came in 72^nd. Just maybe the more important statistic was driving accuracy where Keith was 4th and Jeff tied for 5^th. Charles Howell III was number one in driving distance and tied for 6^th overall while J.B. Holmes was 2^nd and finished 59^th overall most likely because he tied for 69^th in driving accuracy.

Colonel Bogey for Bogeybreakers^TM

In fact, most weeks on the PGA Tour the statistic that determines winners and losers is a statistic you probably never heard of, something called the Gross Positive Score (GPS). The GPS measures mistakes (bogeys and worse) and in almost every tournament he plays in Tiger has the best GPS. That’s why Tiger is the Number One player in the world. He does not out drive, or out putt, or out chip the competition but he does out think the competition and he has been doing so ever since he turned Pro.

At this year’s U.S. Open Tiger’s GPS was +14 four strokes better than anyone else. That’s how he tied for second place with only eight birdies. By the way the USGA did not discriminate in Tiger’s favor. George McNeill’s GPS was +34.

As Justice Scalia once said about Administrative Law, golf is not for sissies. I doubt that anyone would ever call Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer or Lee Trevino or any of the greats’ sissies. Sure, Arnold Palmer’s publisher titled one of his books Go for Broke but that was to sell books. In the book Arnie made it clear that there is a difference between being bold and playing recklessly, and that he knew the difference.

Several years ago as Phil Mickelson was about to lose another U.S. Open by a stroke or two Johnny Miller said, “Maybe some day Phil will learn the value of a par.” We will probably never know whether Johnny’s advice had any affect on Phil but we do know that Phil started to play a little smarter and Phil now has won three Majors. Unfortunately in the 2006 U.S. Open (and in several tournaments leading up to it) the old Phil returned. If you watched Phil’s swing with the driver on the tee at Winged Foot you would have thought you were watching a Daly swing (John, not Dan). It is a testimony to Phil’s other golfing skills that he was still in contention on the 72nd hole. Most tour players who had missed as many fairways as Phil did would not have made the cut.

As is true with most things that are fun to do or to watch Golf requires both skill and intelligence. Texas Hold’em is currently the rage and as is true of most forms of Poker it is easy to conclude that winning is mostly luck but as anyone who has ever played much poker knows, over the long run mental skill is really what separates the winners from the losers. If this were not true the casinos could start running poker tournaments where the players played Showdown all night. You know, that’s the game where everyone antes up and is dealt a hand which each person turns up in turn. There is no further betting, no raising, no decisions to make. The best hand takes the pot. Ante up again and deal. That’s gambling, not poker, and I doubt that anyone would find it interesting (or smart) to play for hours let alone to watch.

Mr. Daly said that “America isn’t about breaking even, about level par. …If America was about breaking even, the French franc would still be legal tender in New Orleans.” I guess Daly (Dan not John) doesn’t recall that the greatest mental breakdown in Golf history was Jean Van de Velde’s triple bogey 7 at the final hole in the 1999 British Open. The Frenchman’s play that day has been called many things but never the American Way.

1. Tim Herron who finished last was only one stroke behind Geoff Ogilvy. T F

2. David Howell finished first one stroke ahead of second place finisher Steve Stricker and three strokes ahead of Nick O’Hern, Robert Allenby, and Ted Purdy who tied for third. T F

3. Of the 63 finishers only 28 had worse scores than Geoff Ogilvy. T F

4. Ryuji Imada and Kent Jones had the same score. Ryuji tied for 12th. Kent tied for 48th. T F

5. Thirteen players finished ahead of Phil Mickelson and six tied Phil. Vijay Singh was one of the 14 players who tied Geoff for 21st place. T F

Of course you know that all of the above statements are False, but they all would be true if the winner was decided by the players Gross Negative Score (GNS), that is, the total of birdies and better.

Geoff Ogilvy’s GNS was -9 as was the GNS of 14 other players including Vijay Singh.

David Howell’s GNS was -16, seven strokes better than Geoff’s -9. So how come Geoff finished first and David tied for 16th? Because Geoff’s Gross Positive Score (GPS), that is bogeys and worse, was +14 and David’s was +27.

If the lowest GPS determined the winner Geoff would have won. Of course Geoff did win and most weeks on the PGA Tour the winner is the player with the lowest GPS not the lowest GNS. This year’s U.S. Open was just a little more dramatic than most tournaments.

We will be watching highlight films of the 2006 U.S. Open for many years to come. Mostly we will be seeing shots of birdies and an occasional eagle plus shots of Phil’s and Monty’s play on the 18th hole. The highlight film we should be seeing is Geoff’s parring the last three holes.

First, as to Tiger and Phil: Tiger has done well in the past when coming off a sizeable layoff and the emotion of winning one for his late Father on Father’s day is certainly a strong incentive. But it may be too strong. Phil has not played the way he needs to play to win a Major in his most recent outings. It looks like the old Phil has returned. At Westchester Phil had 13 birdies and an eagle giving him the same Gross Negative Score (bogeys and worse) as the winner, Vijay but Phil finished tied for 18th place. The difference: Vijay had just five bogeys; Phil had 12 bogeys and one double bogey.

Which brings us to why Vijay should be a strong favorite to win this week. First, this is a U.S. Open and the setup will require really smart play, the kind of play Vijay showed last week. Second, Winged Foot is the same kind of course as the Westchester Country Club. On the doglegs the big bombers cannot just fire away and many of them are incapable of doing anything else. For example last week Robert Garrigus was No. 1 in driving distance. He tied for 66th place with 12 birdies, 17 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. Bo Van Pelt was No. 2 in driving distance and tied for 18th with 17 birdies, 14 bogeys and 1 double bogey. Adam Scott was 3rd in driving distance and could have easily won the tournament with his 16 birdies and 3 eagles but for his 10 bogeys and 2 double bogeys.

Now for the dark horses, Brett Quigley and Billy Andrade, two names not often mentioned when favorites for a U.S. Open are discussed. So why here? Two reasons. First, like Vijay both showed last week at the Barclay that they have the kind of game needed for a course like Winged Foot. Second, both have been on the Tour long enough to have learned that the secret to golf is patience and that this is especially true at the U.S. Open.

Of course, for any Major Tiger has to be considered one of the favorites and Phil must be on the short list given his success in recent years. However Colonel Bogey thinks that the odds on favorite for the 2006 U.S. Open should be Vijay Singh and not just because he won last week at Westchester. It is because Vijay’s play at Westchester is the kind of play needed to win at Winged Foot.

First, as to Tiger and Phil: Tiger has done well in the past when coming off a sizeable layoff and the emotion of winning one for his late Father on Father’s day is certainly a strong incentive. But it may be too strong. Phil has not played the way he needs to play to win a Major in his most recent outings. It looks like the old Phil has returned. At Westchester Phil had 13 birdies and an eagle giving him the same Gross Negative Score (bogeys and worse) as the winner, Vijay but Phil finished tied for 18th place. The difference: Vijay had just five bogeys; Phil had 12 bogeys and one double bogey.

Which brings us to why Vijay should be a strong favorite to win this week. First, this is a U.S. Open and the setup will require really smart play, the kind of play Vijay showed last week. Second, Winged Foot is the same kind of course as the Westchester Country Club. On the doglegs the big bombers cannot just fire away and many of them are incapable of doing anything else. For example last week Robert Garrigus was No. 1 in driving distance. He tied for 66th place with 12 birdies, 17 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. Bo Van Pelt was No. 2 in driving distance and tied for 18th with 17 birdies, 14 bogeys and 1 double bogey. Adam Scott was 3rd in driving distance and could have easily won the tournament with his 16 birdies and 3 eagles but for his 10 bogeys and 2 double bogeys.

Now for the dark horses, Brett Quigley and Billy Andrade, two names not often mentioned when favorites for a U.S. Open are discussed. So why here? Two reasons. First, like Vijay both showed last week at the Barclay that they have the kind of game needed for a course like Winged Foot. Second, both have been on the Tour long enough to have learned that the secret to golf is patience and that this is especially true at the U.S. Open.

I really won the tournament yesterday (i.e., his third round on Saturday). Usually I have one bad round in a tournament and that could have happened yesterday. I had to sink several long putts to save par and I did. I stayed patient and what could have been a 72 or 73 ended up a 68.

I suppose I could have had a few more birdies if I had gone for the pins more but that’s not the way you win golf tournaments.

Ted had no eagles, 20 birdies, and only 5 bogeys in 72 holes for a net of -15.

Sean O’Hair was one stroke back at -14 based on 18 birdies, an eagle and 6 bogeys.

Vijay Singh was 4 strokes back. He had 20 birdies, an eagle but 11 bogeys.

Scott Verplank and J.J. Henry each had 20 birdies, the same as Ted Purdy. Scott tied for 6th thanks to 8 bogeys and one double bogey. J.J., who was first in driving distance, tied for 10th with 11 bogeys. But before you feel too sorry for them, think of poor Craig Perks who had 19 birdies, only one fewer than Ted, but Craig tied for 35th because of 14 bogeys.

Thus, as Ted recognized himself, it was Ted’s smart patient play that produced 27 finishing holes without a bogey. Over that 27 hole stretch Ted had 7 birdies but so did a lot of his competitors. The bogeyless streak is how Ted got his first PGA Tour win and that’s how Ted is likely to get many more wins.

That Tiger beat Chris in the playoff was almost anticlimactic.

The first 72 holes told the story. On average Chris gave up over 25 yards per drive. You probably heard Chris talk about the hole on which he hit a four iron to the green while Tiger was hitting a wedge. Tiger’s length did help put him in a position to get closer to some pins, and thus to make more birdies (24) than Chris (19) but Tiger also made more bogeys (12) than Chris (7). Chris’s GPS of +7 was by two strokes the lowest of the 50 finishers and that is why he was in the playoff.

David Howell’s 17 birdies and an eagle tied him with Chris in the GNS category (-19). David finished tied for 11th ten strokes behind Chris because he had 11 bogeys and three double bogeys (GPS +17).

If you have not yet read the Colonel Bogey lessons, then stop wasting time reading these articles and get to the lessons. The lessons explain the heart of the Colonel’s philosophy of golf and how patience is the golfer’s secret weapon. If you have read the lessons, but not recently, then go read them again. Remember, every Spring you should remind your body and brain what the game is all about. But don’t read all of the lessons in one sitting. Read one lesson per day and preferably at night. After reading a lesson try taking a few slow motion practice swings in your living room, and then go to sleep, but before you dose off picture playing one hole of golf intelligently and patiently.

If driving distance determined the winner, Fred would have finished 80th out of the 82 players who finished four rounds. Ernie Els (T17) would have finished first.
If birdies and eagles alone determined the winner Fred (with a GNS of -17) would have finished tied for 16th with 11 other players. That’s right, 26 players had a GNS equal to or better than Fred’s. Another 10 players had a GNS of -16 just one stroke behind Fred. This group included Tag Ridings who finished last.

So how could Fred have won given the above facts? As usual, the answer is Fred’s GPS of +8 the lowest of the 82 finishers. The two players who finished with GNS’s of -21, J.L. Lewis (T8) and Steve Lowery (T12) had GPS’s of +16 and +17, respectively. And you might well ask, how could Fred do it on a really tough course with an average drive of only 253.4 yards? Well there are two other statistics I have not mentioned yet and Fred tied for first in one and finished first alone in the other. Driving accuracy (T1). Greens in regulation (#1).

And, oh by the way, Fred will turn 49 this year.

It is also worth noting that this is only the second tournament this year in which driving accuracy has been highly relevant to the players’ course management. Fred has not won very many tournaments (7 PGA tournament victories since 1989), but he has always faired well on courses that are not designed to be forgiving for players who can drive the ball far but can’t aim. Fred is on his way to his fourth year in a row of earning more than $2 million for the season, not bad for a PGA Tour player who has never finished higher than 163rd on the driving distance list over that period.

If you are ever wondering why so many weekend golfers are loading up on the $500 drivers and the $5 golf balls only to unload off the tee sending their $5 into the rough, the trees, or the ponds just consider that they are the victims of a big hoax, dare I say, conspiracy. The conspirators or perhaps con artists are the golf club manufacturers, the golf ball manufacturers, the editors and writers in most of the golf magazines, the announcers on most of the golf television shows (Johnny Miller being one of the exceptions) and at most of the professional golf tournaments, and more often the golf tournament sponsors who force the course superintendents to widen the fairways and shorten the roughs.

A 300 yard drive is only better than a 250 yard drive if accuracy is not a factor. Accuracy is not a factor only if the golfer already has accuracy in his bag or if the golf course layout is so forgiving that it makes accuracy not important. Few professional golfers and almost no amateurs are so accurate that the part of their game that is holding them back is their driving distance. Yet, all you need to do is turn on the TV or open a golf magazine to get blasted with a bunch of lies about how improving your distance off the tee will improve your game.

Professional golfers are just as big a bunch of suckers as the average weekend golfer when it comes to falling for this lie. If you don’t believe me just take a look at the statistics from almost any professional tournament. Or perhaps consider when Tiger was playing his best golf in his first few years on the tour. The smart analysts of the games talked about how smart Tiger’s golf management skills were and the simpletons commented on how far he hit the ball. Well, Tiger is back to hitting the ball rather far, but hmmmm, it seems like something is still coming up short in his game. Perhaps he needs a new driver. But more likely he needs to return to the thinking man’s game that made him the golf sensation he is.

Or perhaps consider Fred Funk’s victory this past Sunday. Fred played smart and used great aim to take home the trophy and quite a bit of spending money. One thing to keep in mind is that it is possible to be accurate and also to hit the ball rather far. But the smart golfers hold back their distance if it starts to detract from their accuracy. Jack Nicklaus said many times that he rarely tried to use 100% of his power. Fred Funk has a long reputation for driving accuracy, but not for driving distance. We can give him the benefit of the doubt and suppose that he is such a smart student of the game that he practices more on accuracy than worrying about distance because he has always known that this is the key to success. Or we could consider the possibility that he realized early in his career that he would never be amongst the longer hitters on the tour and decided that his only chance at making a career of golf was to focus on accuracy. Well regardless of what his early motivation was he has his priorities in order. Just imagine how many wasted strokes would disappear from all of the worlds score cards if every golfer looked at the 2005 Players Championship and realized that every player in the field had plenty of distance to win it and most had enough birdies (and few scattered eagles), but only one player had the combination of skills in the right order of importance.

Tag Ridings finished 20th in driving distance and 80th in driving accuracy and took home fourteen thousand dollars to Fred Funk’s 1.4 million. Does any golfer doubt that Tag would be willing to give up a few of those driving yards in exchange for some of Fred’s dollars?