Capelle On Golf

British Open Coverage

Padraig Harrington’s stats are more impressive than they seem. Although he hit 29 of 56 fairways compared to an average of 28.72 for those who made the cut, those 27 misses are deceiving. Most were quality misses in which he used the right club and employed the correct strategy.

As a result, Harrington kept the ball out of the deep fairway bunkers (which he considered true hazards). He also largely avoided the hay filled dunes that bordered the fairways. On many occasions he barely missed the fairway, but had the best angle to the pin and was in no danger of finding the worst of the trouble.

The GIR stats also fail to show the true quality of his long game. He hit only 38 greens compared to an average of 37.06 for those who made the cut, apparently gaining a 3.76 stroke edge over four days. In truth, Harrington used 7.77 fewer shots to reach the greens because of his ability to hit par 5s in two, which he played in a tournament best of -7 (for 8 par 4s!). This stat also shows his smart play which resulted in very few holes where he took more than one over regulation figures to reach the green.

PH——-Field—PH Adv.
283.00—296.07—13.07—score
167.00—174.77—7.77—shots to the green
116.00—121.30—5.30—putts

Harrington’s trump card was his putting. He beat the field on the greens by 5.30 shots even though he took 7.77 less strokes to reach the putting surfaces. Harrington’s accurate putting was due in no small part to his unusually wide stance, which helped to keep him stable in the ultra windy conditions.

Anthony Kim’s Big Question Mark
Those who made the cut averaged 1.90 subpar holes per round (I counted eagles as two) compared to Harrington’s average of 3.75 holes. Harrington hit 38 greens and converted them into 2 eagles and 10 birdies (he chipped in once). That’s 31.6%! In contrast, Anthony Kim led the field with 50 GIR, yet made a grand one eagle and four birdies. That’s a miserly10%!

A future world beater should not, at age 23, be putting that poorly ever – not even in the majors. Instead, he should be in the fearless stage where they all go in, not at a point where he’s having serious tournament long issues with the flat stick.

Interestingly, the three leaders in GIR (see below) all used 16 more putts than Harrington and all three tied for seventh place with scores of 292.

GIR-Putts
38—116—P. Harrington
50—132—Anthony Kim
49—132—Paul Casey
45—132—Robert Allenby

Ian Poulter and Steve Stricker
They are the only two in the top 15 to avoid a double bogey, and Poulter got the worst of the draw.

Stephen Ames’ Four Disaster Holes
Nine of his 12 over total was concentrated on four holes. He was three over for the remaining 68 holes. If he’d just bogeyed those four, he’d have tied for second.

John Daly’s Legacy: King of the Big Numbers
If they kept stats on those “dreaded others”, Daly would undoubtedly hold the career record. In 36 holes at this year’s Open he scored five double bogeys and a quintuple bogey. That’s a disaster every 6 holes!