In 2017 Justin Thomas completed one of the best seasons in PGA Tour History.
A few of his highlights include:
- 5 time winner on the PGA Tour
- PGA Championship (his first major)
- FED EX Cup Champion
- Shot a career low 59 (only the 7th player in PGA Tour history)
- Voted PGA Tour Player of the year
- Nearly $20 million in on-course earnings
Not bad for a 24 year old…
Despite these incredible accomplishments, I think it is important to look at Justin’s season in its entirety. In doing so, we will begin to notice some common themes in the professionals games and our own.
1.) Justin played in 25 PGA Tour events in 2017. He missed the cut in 6 of them (25% off the time). 25% of the rounds he played in, Justin Thomas (#3 ranked player in the world) was beaten by half of the players in the field.
2.) The difference between his best score and his worst was 21 shots! Seeing as he shot a 59, that number is a little higher than most. But nearly every PGA Tour player will have a differential in the 12-13 range between their lowest score and their worst. Most golfers will only shoot their best scores a few times during a season.
3.) Justin’s scoring average for the season was 69.39. His mean score for the season was 69.5. (There are as many rounds above 69.5 as there were below it for the season.) On any given day, Justin had a 50% chance of shooting around below 69.5 and 50% chance of shooting above it.
As great of a season as it was for Justin Thomas, he (and all professionals) is not as consistent as we often are lead to believe. In part 2, we will look at how this same “inconsistency” is seen in our own games and how better understanding this can help you improve your scores.