PGA Tour money list proves you can forget "drive for show and putt for dough"
For years we have been told golf's famous "drive for show and putt for dough" phrase, but it's far from the truth on the PGA Tour.
It might be one of the most famous catchphrases in golf, but it could hardly be further from the truth when you take a look at the money list on the PGA Tour this season.
Hat tip to golf coach Mike Bury for his post on Instagram this week (@MikeBuryGolf) that takes a closer look at the money made by the top 10 in Strokes-Gained Putting vs the top 10 in Strokes-Gained Off-The-Tee on the PGA Tour right now.
As of the PGA Tour's 3M Open, which was the last tournament on the schedule before the Men's Olympic Golf Competition last week, the top 10 players on the SG Off-The-Tee list have made a total of $38,370,808 as opposed to the $26,359,734 of the top 10 in SG Putting.
Don't get us wrong, putting will always be important, especially for us amateur hacks, but out on the PGA Tour at least it proves a long ball is key if you want to rack up the cash fast.
Here's a look at the top 10 in the two categories on the PGA Tour this season:
TOP 10 SG OFF-THE-TEE
1. Bryson DeChambeau - $6,078,990
2. Jon Rahm - $6,793,933
3. Sergio Garcia - $2,579,430
4. Jhonattan Vegas - $1,940,423
5. Bubba Watson - $1,855,320
6. Viktor Hovland - $4,823,997
7. Cameron Champ - $1,998,278
8. Rory McIlroy - $3,716,534
9. Corey Conners - $3,575,692
10. Brooks Koepka - $5,018,211
TOP 10 SG PUTTING
1. Louis Oosthuizen - $6,140,679
2. JT Poston - $1,663,521
3. Christiaan Bezuidenhout - $729,265
4. Jason Kokrak - $4,882,879
5. Ian Poulter - $1,372,534
6. Zach Johnson - $1,217,071
7. Brendon Todd - $1,201,004
8. Patrick Reed - $3,942,044
9. Xander Schauffele - $5,022,458
10. Rhein Gibson - $188,279
How is SG Off-The-Tee measured?
The number of strokes a player takes from a specific distance off the tee on Par 4 & par 5's is measured against a statistical baseline to determine the player's strokes gained or lost off the tee on a hole. The sum of the values for all holes played in a round minus the field average strokes gained/lost for the round is the player's Strokes gained/lost for that round. The sum of strokes gained for each round are divided by total rounds played.
How is SG Putting measured?
The number of putts a player takes from a specific distance is measured against a statistical baseline to determine the player's strokes gained or lost on a hole. The sum of the values for all holes played in a round minus the field average strokes gained/lost for the round is the player's Strokes gained/lost for that round. The sum of strokes gained for each round are divided by total rounds played.
