Tag: Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau-flex: Big hitter shows off prodigious length

Over the course of four days at Colonial Country Club, Bryson DeChambeau had 19 drives that measured 330 or more yards.

Bryson DeChambeau has a new nickname, in case you hadn’t heard: Bryson DeChambeau-flex.

We didn’t coin the phrase but it really seems to fit, what with his new linebacker physique and prodigious length off the tee.

DeChambeau leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 323.8 yards off the tee through the Charles Schwab Challenge. That’s three yards farther than the next guy on the list, Cameron Champ, who led the Tour in driving last season at 317.9.

Hank Kuehne in 2003 set the bar in PGA Tour driving distance when he averaged 321.4. DeChambeau is on pace to break that mark by two yards.

Over the course of four days at Colonial Country Club, DeChambeau flexed with 19 drives of 330 or more yards.

DeChambeau certainly is holding nothing back off the tee, and he has increased his distance average this season by more than 20 yards over last season. He averaged 302.5 yards in 2018-19 (ranked 34th on Tour), 305.7 in 2017-18 (25th on Tour) and 299.4 in 2016-17 (45th on Tour).

The boosted distance hasn’t helped his accuracy as compared to last season. He has hit 60.24 percent of fairways this season, ranking 121st on Tour. In 2018-19 he hit 65.02 percent of fairways to rank 66th, in 2017-18 he hit 62.23 percent (92nd on Tour) and in 2016-17 he hit 58.34 percent (124th on Tour.)

The loss of accuracy isn’t too troubling, though, as measured by the Tour’s strokes gained off the tee metric. Typically favoring length over accuracy, the stat measures how many strokes a player gains against the field in a round just off the tee.

DeChambeau ranks second behind Sergio Garcia in strokes gained off the tee this season, gaining 1.119 strokes per round off the tee against the field. He averaged 0.421 strokes gained off the tee in the 2018-19 season, 0.586 in 2017-18 and 0.420 in 2016-17.

That means that during a four-round event, DeChambeau’s tee shots give him a 2.8-stroke advantage off the tee versus the 2018-19 version of himself.

He hit it how far?

The list of the 300-plus-yard drives from DeChambeau during the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.

Thursday

353, 322, 354, 333, 336, 321, 316

Friday

340, 365, 310, 330, 334, 340, 349, 320, 335

Saturday

354, 303, 329, 356, 329, 333

Sunday

361, 328, 366, 354, 346, 334, 322, 321

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Dan Pohl to Cameron Champ: Longest drivers on PGA Tour, 1980-2019

This is the list of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour, which started tracking the stat in 1980. The list is through the 2018-19 season.

Earlier this spring, there was considerable chatter surrounding distance gains in golf after the U.S. Golf Association and R&A released their Distance Insights Report. That prompted us to take a closer look at the players who have led the PGA Tour in driving distance.

This is the list of the longest drivers starting in 1980 – the first year the Tour started measuring drives – through the 2018-19 season.

John Daly in 1997 was the first to surpass the average distance of 300 yards. Daly led the Tour in driving distance in 11 seasons.

In 2003, Hank Kuehne became the first and only Tour player to average more than 320 yards per drive with 321.14. It was a jump of almost 15 yards from Daly’s average the year before.

Eighteen golfers have led this list over the last 40 years, with Daly appearing at the top more times than any other player. Bubba Watson is next with five distance titles. Others to have led the Tour in driving average more than one season include Dan Pohl, John McComish, Davis Love III, Hank Kuehne, Robert Garrigus, J.B. Holmes and Rory McIlroy.

Being a big hitter doesn’t always lead to victory lane. Only six of the 18 won a Tour event in the same year that they led in driving average: Daly, Watson, Garrigus, Dustin Johnson, McIlroy and Cameron Champ.

It’s interesting to note that neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson has ever led the Tour in driving distance.

Take a look at the year-by-year longest drivers on Tour.

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