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Past Issues
63. Tiger Hunting (2024-12-11)
62. Was the FedExCup Fair? (2024-11-28)
61. Prez Cup Picks (2024-08-29)
60. Major Wrap-Up (2024-07-24)
59. Links Season (2024-07-17)
58. Captain Keegan (2024-07-10)
57. Bryson 4.0 (2024-06-19)
56. Newsletter No. 56 (2024-06-12)
55. Valhalla Delivers? (2024-05-22)
54. Major Expectations (2024-05-15)
53. Major Moves (2024-04-17)
52. Masters Tidbits (2024-04-10)
51. On Site at The Players (2024-03-21)
50. Still Top Scheff (2024-03-13)
49. Scottie's Scaries (cont'd) (2024-02-21)
48. Taylor Triumphs (2024-02-15)
47. DG PIP Rankings (2024-02-07)
46. California Kids (2024-01-23)
45. Yuan Goes Yard (2024-01-17)
44. Brain Drain (2024-01-03)
43. LIV Fever (2023-12-06)
42. Nothing Major (2023-11-15)
41. Driving Machine (2023-11-08)
40. How's Traffic? (2023-10-18)
39. Lucky Luke (2023-10-11)
38. Postmortem (2023-10-04)
37. Ryder Cup (2023-09-27)
36. Letzig Returns (2023-09-20)
35. That's a Wrap (2023-08-29)
34. Pick 6 (2023-08-23)
33. Tale of Two Glovers (2023-08-16)
32. Forecasting the FedEx (2023-08-09)
31. Postseason (2023-08-01)
30. Major Letdown (2023-07-25)
29. Underdogs (2023-07-19)
28. Up and Down (2023-07-11)
27. Validation for Rickie (2023-07-05)
26. The Ams Strike Back (2023-06-27)
25. Wyndham Rewarded (2023-06-20)
24. The Show Rolls On (2023-06-13)
23. Scottie's Scaries (2023-06-08)
22. Grillo, Mi Amigo (2023-05-30)
21. Major Koepka (2023-05-23)
20. Glory's Second Shot (2023-05-16)
19. We Meet Again.. (2023-05-09)
18. Big Tone (2023-05-01)
17. Health Check (2023-04-24)
16. Live From Harbour Town (2023-04-17)
15. Phil Thrills (2023-04-11)
14. Down Magnolia Lane We Go (2023-04-03)
13. Peaking for Augusta (2023-03-27)
12. Fall of The DeChambino (2023-03-21)
11. Top Scheff (2023-03-13)
10. Fore Right! (2023-03-06)
9. CH3.. Wins? (2023-02-28)
8. The Rahm Slam (2023-02-21)
7. Garbage Time (2023-02-14)
6. Little Misery (2023-02-07)
5. Rory Returns (2023-01-30)
4. Rahm Threat (2023-01-23)
3. Rising Maverick (2023-01-16)
2. Morikawa's Meltdown (2023-01-09)
1. Introducing Letzig (2023-01-02)

Rankings Update

In the words of Michael G. Scott... "Snip-snap, snip-snap!"

After losing the #1 spot to Scottie Scheffler at the WGC Match Play, Jon Rahm grabs the top spot back in the DG and OWGR rankings with his win at Augusta National. Along with Rory McIlroy, the new "Big 3" have been constantly one-upping each other in the first quarter of 2023—is Rahm finally ready to break free and become the clear-cut #1?

Top 10 (see all)
Player DG OWGR
Jon Rahm 1 1 1 2
Scottie Scheffler 2 1 2 1
Rory McIlroy 3 — 3 1
Patrick Cantlay 4 — 4 —
Xander Schauffele 5 1 6 1
Tony Finau 6 1 14 1
Cameron Young 7 2 13 1
Viktor Hovland 8 2 9 —
Collin Morikawa 9 2 11 1
Max Homa 10 3 7 2
Notables
Jordan Spieth 13 3 15 1
Russell Henley 21 14 29 9
Sahith Theegala 27 16 28 2
Brooks Koepka 48 26 39 79
Phil Mickelson 242 130 72 353
Sam Bennett (a) 307 96 — —

With LIV Golf not being recognized by the OWGR, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka earned some much-needed points with their T2 finishes at The Masters. Mickelson catapulted 353 spots up to 72nd (his highest OWGR rank since last June) while Koepka broke back into the top 40.

Jordan Spieth's run of solid finishes has him inching back towards the DG Top 10. He's now 13th, one spot ahead of good buddy Justin Thomas.

Power Struggle

In the modern era of professional golf, there are a lot of talented players and not a lot of separation between them. Every few weeks it feels like there is a new player grabbing the golf world’s attention. It’s Rahm today, but it was Scottie a month ago, and Rory to start the year. With our focus always on the most recent tournament, it’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture of these players’ careers.

The list below summarizes the careers to-date of (some of) the players who have recently captured our attention, sorted by their career True SG on the PGA Tour, and with their number of PGA Tour wins alongside:

1. Jon Rahm: 11 wins, 2.18 strokes-gained per round
2. Rory McIlroy: 23, 2.10
3. Scottie Scheffler: 6, 1.75
4. Justin Thomas: 15, 1.70
5. Collin Morikawa: 5, 1.66
6. Xander Schauffele: 7, 1.64
7. Patrick Cantlay: 7, 1.63
8. Viktor Hovland: 5, 1.62
9. Jordan Spieth: 14, 1.54
10. Tony Finau: 5, 1.35
11. Cameron Smith: 4, 0.85

Player Feature

Playing Out Of Their Minds

Last week, Phil Mickelson outperformed our model's pre-tournament prediction by 16 strokes to finish T2 at The Masters. We went back and found the largest tournament-long overperformances for negative-skill (i.e. below PGA Tour average) players since 2010—the top 10 are listed below.

1. Michael Kim: 2018 John Deere Classic, 1st place, 21.8 strokes above expected
2. Si Woo Kim: 2017 PLAYERS Championship, 1st, 20.5
3. Billy Hurley III: 2016 Quicken Loans National, 1st, 20.1
4. Darren Clarke: 2011 Open Championship, 1st, 19.8
5. Carl Pettersson: 2020 Memorial Tournament, T38, 19.5
6. Matt Every: 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational, 1st, 19.5
7. Mark Hensby: 2015 Barbasol Championship, T6, 19.4
8. Zack Miller: 2012 Frys.com Open, T11, 19.3
9. Billy Hurley III: 2012 AT&T National, T4, 18.8
10. Michael Thompson: 2013 Honda Classic, 1st, 18.7
...
50. Phil Mickelson: 2023 Masters Tournament, T2, 16.3

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Past Issues
63. Tiger Hunting (2024-12-11)
62. Was the FedExCup Fair? (2024-11-28)
61. Prez Cup Picks (2024-08-29)
60. Major Wrap-Up (2024-07-24)
59. Links Season (2024-07-17)
58. Captain Keegan (2024-07-10)
57. Bryson 4.0 (2024-06-19)
56. Newsletter No. 56 (2024-06-12)
55. Valhalla Delivers? (2024-05-22)
54. Major Expectations (2024-05-15)
53. Major Moves (2024-04-17)
52. Masters Tidbits (2024-04-10)
51. On Site at The Players (2024-03-21)
50. Still Top Scheff (2024-03-13)
49. Scottie's Scaries (cont'd) (2024-02-21)
48. Taylor Triumphs (2024-02-15)
47. DG PIP Rankings (2024-02-07)
46. California Kids (2024-01-23)
45. Yuan Goes Yard (2024-01-17)
44. Brain Drain (2024-01-03)
43. LIV Fever (2023-12-06)
42. Nothing Major (2023-11-15)
41. Driving Machine (2023-11-08)
40. How's Traffic? (2023-10-18)
39. Lucky Luke (2023-10-11)
38. Postmortem (2023-10-04)
37. Ryder Cup (2023-09-27)
36. Letzig Returns (2023-09-20)
35. That's a Wrap (2023-08-29)
34. Pick 6 (2023-08-23)
33. Tale of Two Glovers (2023-08-16)
32. Forecasting the FedEx (2023-08-09)
31. Postseason (2023-08-01)
30. Major Letdown (2023-07-25)
29. Underdogs (2023-07-19)
28. Up and Down (2023-07-11)
27. Validation for Rickie (2023-07-05)
26. The Ams Strike Back (2023-06-27)
25. Wyndham Rewarded (2023-06-20)
24. The Show Rolls On (2023-06-13)
23. Scottie's Scaries (2023-06-08)
22. Grillo, Mi Amigo (2023-05-30)
21. Major Koepka (2023-05-23)
20. Glory's Second Shot (2023-05-16)
19. We Meet Again.. (2023-05-09)
18. Big Tone (2023-05-01)
17. Health Check (2023-04-24)
16. Live From Harbour Town (2023-04-17)
15. Phil Thrills (2023-04-11)
14. Down Magnolia Lane We Go (2023-04-03)
13. Peaking for Augusta (2023-03-27)
12. Fall of The DeChambino (2023-03-21)
11. Top Scheff (2023-03-13)
10. Fore Right! (2023-03-06)
9. CH3.. Wins? (2023-02-28)
8. The Rahm Slam (2023-02-21)
7. Garbage Time (2023-02-14)
6. Little Misery (2023-02-07)
5. Rory Returns (2023-01-30)
4. Rahm Threat (2023-01-23)
3. Rising Maverick (2023-01-16)
2. Morikawa's Meltdown (2023-01-09)
1. Introducing Letzig (2023-01-02)