2008 Masters: What do the statistics tell us?

Tiger Woods was odds on favourite to win the 2008 Masters and he nearly did it...and not by doing anything special in the last round. He just held his place and the others started to slip.


However, Immelman was good enough and had the nerve to hold his lead and secure his first Green Jacket.

Congratulations to Trevor!

So I have been taking a look at the official statistics for this years Masters and it makes interesting reading

The first thing you notice is the consistency:

Immelman hit 51 greens in regulation (GIR) and Woods hit 50 (as did 3rd place Cink). Snedeker was doing well, but fell away with too many errors in the last round hit only 7 greens in regulation.

When you look at driving accuracy, Immelman was number 1, hitting 48 of the 56 driving fairways, 10 more than Woods did. It just shows - hit more fairways, and chances are you will hit more greens in regulation. It also shows how good Tiger is at finding the green from a missed fairway!

So, if they are getting on the greens in regulation, how do they compare with putting?

Immelman came 4th in the putting stats, taking only 112 putts for the 72 holes, that's an average of 28 putts a round which is pretty good for Augusta greens! Tiger however averaged 30 putts a round with a total of 120 putts i.e. 8 more shots than Trevor.


Those of us who watched Tiger throughout the week could see how frustrated he was that the putts were not dropping. Imagine if his putter had been hot - his 3-shot deficit could easily have been a 5 shot lead!


So, in summary, to win the Masters is quite a simple formula:

Hit the fairways, get on the greens in regulation, and then hole the putts!

.....just that Augusta National is not a very easy course to do it on!

Who will Win the Masters?

The Masters is a tough competition. Augusta National is a tough course. It’s a long course (7445 yards at last count)! But what is it that makes it so hard?

Lumps. Bumps. Slopes....and that's just the fairways!

Apart from the tee shots, there is barely an even lie on the whole course.

And then there are the infamous greens!

Augusta National greens are not at all level. They all tilt and turn this way and that way. Like on most courses the game can be won and lost on the greens, but at Augusta it is a crucial part of the game. You have to be able to pick the exact part of the green to land the ball on or otherwise you will find it rolling away from the pin...or even off the green altogether.

We all remember Tiger chipping in at the 16th at the 2005 Masters. He had to aim way wide of the hole and then watch as the ball curved around and ambled its way into the hole. Incredible!. Here is the video again if you missed it:

Tiger Woods 16th Hole 2005 Masters



So what will the players need to do to stand a chance of winning?

Firstly they will need to know the course, particularly the greens. They will need to pick the landing zones on the greens, and then pick the best place to attack that position from. They must have excellent course management.

Secondly they must have good control over the ball from all the uneven lies they will encounter.

Thirdly, and arguably most importantly, they must be able to control the ball on the green. At Augusta that means mastering reading the slope and speed of the greens, and having precise distance control in putting.


So, the winner of the Green Jacket will be….

…. the player who has the best game plan and course management, and controls his ball the best on the green.

Ok...so I couldn't put a name to the winner!

Who do you think will win?