September’s Winner, Question of the Month
It was a very close contest, with several really excellent posts. Congrats to AndrewsDad for winning September’s Question of the Month. AndrewsDad, please send in your address and ball preference to tgbmailbag[at]gmail[dot]com.
Annika beat Tiger in having the more impressive year. Here’s why, according to AndrewsDad:
The question is who has had the most impressive or better year. Its not who has had the most exciting year or who looks better on the course. Both Annika and Tiger have had great years but if you spend the time to go over the statistics and have followed both the PGA and LPGA tours this year, it’s really not that close of a call. As of Sept 23rd, Annika has 5 LPGA wins, 2 majors and 1 Ladies European Tour win, a total of 8 wins. Tiger has 3 PGA Tour wins and 2 majors, a total of 5 wins. Annika had more wins 8 starts into the season than Tiger has had all year. In addition, Annika has had fewer starts, 15 to Tiger’s 18. Annika’s 4 worst finishes of the year are T5, T5, T12 and T23. Only twice this year has she finished outside the top 5. Tiger’s 4 worst finishes are T23, T40, T53 and of course CUT. Tiger has finished outside the top 5 seven times.
When you look at the statistics they both lead their respective tours in scoring average and money earned. But if you look at the numbers by how much of a lead both have as a percentage over the player in 2nd, excluding those players who have played only 1 event, Annika is running away from the field. For scoring average, she leads 2nd place by 1.32 strokes PER ROUND. Tiger leads 2nd place by .29 strokes per round. Let’s think about that for a second…. If every player could somehow shoot their exact scoring average for a 4 round tournament, Annika would win by 5.28 strokes while Tiger would win by 1.16 strokes. Think of it another way, Annika could give the entire field a stroke each and every round and would still win by a larger margin than Tiger. On the money list, Annika is currently 32% ahead of 2nd place while Tiger is 12% ahead of 2nd. Other stats include GIR, Annika 1st, Tiger 5th, sand saves, Annika 3rd, Tiger 23rd, putting Annika 19th, Tiger 18th, driving distance, Annika 3rd, Tiger 2nd, driving accuracy, Annika 16th, Tiger 180th.
Sorenstam has always finished the year strong. Last year after winning the McDonalds LPGA Championship, Annika went through a 4 tourney drought before winning the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic. That was the start of 4 wins in the last 6 events. This year she was winless in 5 LPGA events after the McDonalds win, a streak that was once again snapped at the Hammons Hotel Classic. She now has a chance to defend 3 more times through the remainder of the year. Tiger on the other hand averages about 1 win a year from late September on. His only defense for the remainder of this year will be at the Target World Challenge, an unofficial event that he hosts.A serious comparison of the numbers for both players shows that Annika Sorenstam, while maybe not as flashy and dramatic, is clearly having a better, more impressive year than Tiger Woods, just as she has had every year since Tigers amazing run in 2000.
One final suggestion to Mattb who thinks “Annka looks better, just barely”, three words, “corrective lasik surgery”.
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