Off the tee: Statistics to get you out of a hole

If you're stuck in a bunker and have the choice of any player to get you safely up and down without dropping a shot, whom should you nominate?

On the USPGA tour the man to have is Pat Perez, who has a 63 per cent success rate. But perhaps you should call someone from across the Atlantic: Irishman Philip Walton gets it done 75 per cent of the time.

American sport is a goldmine for statisticians. Someone can tell you who has hit the most home runs on a Friday facing a left-handed pitcher.

Golf has plugged into this analysis, but the one statistic you can't argue with is the money list. Tiger Woods leads the field with US$10,628,024 ($15,612,165) in official USPGA prize-money. Vijay Singh has earned US$8,017,336 and Phil Mickelson US$5,699,605.

Colin Montgomerie tops the European list with 2,794,222 ($4,825,293) from Michael Campbell with 2,496,269. Poor old Annika Sorenstam is on a much lower pay rate than the men - US$2,373,240, ahead of Paula Creamer (US$1,480,639).

The old saying "Drive for show and putt for dough" seems to be supported by the statistics, though the great players manage to do both.

Australian Scott Hend has the best driving average on the US tour with 291.6m, but he is 170th on the money list and will have to go through the qualifying school for the second year in a row.

Woods is second with 289m and will never face a qualifying school. New Zealand's Michael Long was 29th in this category but must face the qualifying ordeal again. The longest drive of the season was 404.16m from DA Points.

Next season will see a new contender on the big tour. Bubba Watson, who will graduate from the Nationwide tour, has a season's average of 305.4m.

On the European tour, Angel Cabrera averages 279.8m. Michael Campbell is 87th with 261.1m.

Brittany Lincicone leads the women with 247.2m, and Sorenstam manages pretty well with 241.3m.

Driving accuracy is clearly a key statistic. Fred Funk heads the American statistics with 75.9 per cent in the fairway. He ranks 197th in length, yet sits in 11th place on the money list. Tina Fischer hits 83 per cent of her drives between the lines on the women's tour.

In Europe, Australian Peter O'Malley, who won the New Zealand PGA title in Christchurch last February, hits 71.4 per cent of fairways and makes 74 per cent of greens in regulation but he is 87th on the money list.

Putting well certainly helps: Woods is fifth in this category. Best in the US is Arjun Atwal with 1.710 putts per green, good enough to earn him 82nd place on the money list. But Steve Stricker languishes in 162nd place despite finishing second in the putting average.

At 1.75, Sorenstam is equal with Juli Inkster, Lorena Ochoa and Creamer on the women's tour, while Luke Donald manages an outstanding 1.684 in Europe. Spaniard Sergio Garcia is the best in the US at getting to the greens in regulation with 71.8 per cent, but ranks 196th when it comes to putting. A poor start to the season has Campbell way down most of the rankings except the money list. With the US Open and the World Matchplay to his credit, he shows that statistics can lie.

Titirangi golfer Ken Hankin is this week demonstrating that endurance is not the prerogative of the young.

The 62-year-old first played in the national interprovincial tournament in 1962, and he has been an Auckland representative at some level ever since. Playing number three for the Freyberg Masters team at Muriwai, he will play eight 18-hole rounds this week. He prepared for the event by winning his club championship semifinal last Saturday, and tomorrow he will play the 36-hole final.