Tiger Woods wins 73rd tourney; 70 golfers have now finished second to Tiger in his wins!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published daily focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
In a tournament that Jack Nicklaus hosts and on a course that he designed, Tiger Woods won his 73rd PGA tournament yesterday at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, tying him with Nicklaus for second on the all-time wins list. (They trail Sam Snead who had 82 victories.)
Woods shot a five-under-par 67 to win by two shots over Rory Sabbatini and Andres Romero. For Sabbatini, it was the second time in his career that he finished second to Tiger in a tournament. For Romero, he becomes the 70th golfer to finish second (or tied for second) to Tiger in a PGA event.
Ernie Els has finished in second place to Tiger in five tournaments, most of any competitor.
Here’s a look at the players who have finished second or tied for second to Tiger in his 73 wins on the tour.
Second-place finishes, Golfers
5: Ernie Els
4: Davis Love, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk
3: Chris DiMarco, Stewart Cink
2. Tom Lehman, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Retief Goosen, David Toms, Charles Howell III, Rory Sabbatini
Did you know? Els and DiMarco aare the only two golfers to finish second to Tiger in two majors events.
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PGA Championship ‘chip shots’
Tiger Woods... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday
Here’s a look inside the numbers from past PGA Championship golf tournaments. This year’s version begins tomorrow, August 11, at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga.
* Ten different golfers have two or more Top Five finishes in the PGA Championship in this century. Leading the way is Tiger Woods who has finished in the top five six times from 2000-10. The ten, with the number of Top Five finishes from 2000-10:
Tiger Woods, 6
Ernie Els, 3
Rory McElroy, Steve Elkington, Sergio Garcia, Shaun Micheel, Phil Mickelson, Thomas Bjorn, Justin Leonard, Chris Riley, 2 each
(WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A TRIVIA QUESTION. Can you name the two golf legends who missed out on winning golf’s “career” Grand Slam because they never won the PGA Championship event? Answer below.)
* The eventual winner of the last 11 PGA Championships has played his best round of the four days in the second round. The last 11 eventual winners averaged 67.5 in Round 2, 68.3 in Round 3, 69.4 in Round 1 and 69.5 in Round 4.
* The third round leader (or co-leader) since 2000 has averaged 72.8 in their final round. Woods was the third round leader or co-leader four of those years, averaging 69.8 in the final round. The other eight third round leaders/co-leaders (non-Tiger Woods) averaged 74.3 in the final round.
* Twenty-five of the 50 states have hosted the PGA Championship. New York and Ohio top the list with 11, followed by Pennsylvania with 9.
(TRIVIA ANSWER: Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson each won The Masters, British Open and U.S. Open golf tournaments but missed out on golf’s career Grand Slam because they failed to win the PGA Championship)
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