Key Fantasy Stats T of C.

SBS Tournament of Champions

January 5th – 8th, 2017

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Kapalua Maui, HI

Par: 73 / Yardage: 7,452

Purse: $6.1

with $1,220,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Jordan Spieth

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This is based on the most important stats for Plantation Course at Kapalua, based on data from last years Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and using data from all the players in the field for with stats from a combination of 2015 & ’16.
One thing that is important to know, the scoring average of the field in 2016 was 69.80, so with par being 73 that means the average score was just over 3 under per round, making Kapalua the easiest course to score on in 2016.
Now there is many reasons for this, first the Plantation Course is a resort course and not geared to be super tough. Another reason is the fairways, there is no way that you can’t hit the fairways at Kapalua, a 747 can land in them. Last year the course ranked 46th (of 50 courses) in driving accuracy with a 71.46 total. On top of that since the fairways are firm and many of them are downhill, it’s not surprising that for all the drives the average is 292.2 yards. So with that said many will say gosh this is a course for bombers, but it really isn’t. Yes long hitters have a big advantage, but look at some of the champions the last few years, Jordan Spieth was the 51st longest hitter on tour last year. Even better yet Zach Johnson won in 2014, Steve Stricker in 2012, Jonathan Bard in 2011 were three of the shortest hitters in PGA Tour history. Even guys like Geoff Ogilvy (who won twice) and Daniel Chopra were very average on tour in driving distance so the myth that this course is for bombers is not right, except for one small fact. Being on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean the Plantation course tends to get hit by some high winds and when that happens, especially if the winds are out of the north, it helps short hitters The same when it’s dry, it helps the short hitters. For this week winds are going to come out of the northeast and not be that bad, between 10 and 15 mph. So this favors the shorter hitter. But the one undisputed fact that many don’t understand about the winners, in most cases the best putter is the victor. Makes sense, since the course is wide open and the greens the largest on the PGA Tour hitting fairways and greens are easy. But just because you hit a green doesn’t mean it’s going to help you to win. You got to get it close to the hole but more importantly be a great putter, avoid those nasty three putts and make lot’s of putts from six feet and in. Last year’s winner Jordan Spieth made 59 of 60 putts from six feet and in. The year Zach Johnson won he made 63 of 65 putts from seven feet and in while in 2012 Steve Stricker made 58 of 61 putts from seven feet and in. Another key lack of three putts and all winners are good in scrambling.

So here is our four choices for the most important stats from players to do well at Kapalua:

*Proximity to Hole: In greens hit 80.82% where hit last year, making it the easiest course to hit greens on the PGA Tour. In proximity to the hole, players tended to have a tough time getting it close to the hole, last year they averaged 39 feet, 5 inch as only three courses saw approach shots go further away from the hole.

*Strokes gained Putting: The greens average 7,120 square feet at Kapalua, making them above average on the PGA Tour. So with shots ending up far from the hole, it puts a premium on putting, so players that gain strokes putting have an advantage. Overall putting stats place it the 8th hardest to putt, as one putts are at a premium. Three putts aren’t that bad as the course ranks 14th in 3-putt avoidance. But we can’t stop saying the importance of putting well at Kapalua and this is the kiss of death for a lot of players, balky putting.

*Par Breakers: The Plantation Course has always been a push over for the best players in the world. The field killed the course in 2016 averaging 5.02 birdies per round and a total of 642 birdies were made from the field of 32 players, so it’s important to be the best in this Par Breakers which is based on who makes the most birdies and eagles.

*Par 4 average: There are 11 par 4s on the Plantation course and only three of them, the first, seventh and seventeenth played over par. The rest played under par as the average of all par 4s is 3.91, or for the field 133 under so looking for players that do well on par 4s help. We don’t list it but of the Plantations four par fives, they played a total of 282 under in 2016, which means that each player averaged 8.8 shots under par on them.

Below is the average of positions on stats from 2016 & ’17 PGA Tour statistics

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.