PGA Top Putters
Putting is often the defining trait between professional and amateur players, and an essential skill for achieving the lowest score. While some say driving is more important, and who wouldn’t want to watch Alex Quiro drive the ball 360-yards and beyond, putting is more often than not the deciding factor in a tournament. Here is a list of some of the PGA top putters.
Tiger Woods. Yes he tops the list despite playing in a bit of a slump right now. The reason Woods is considered a top putter is because he was the best putter in the last decade. He dominated the golf courses from the late 90’s to the late 2000’s and will always be remembered for his ability to make the short game shots when he really needs to.
Next up is Brandt Snedeker, ranked number one on the PGA’s list of putting averages. With 27.88 putts per round, Snedeker is always a great player to watch on the green. The 29-year-old’s best finish was at the 2008 Masters Tournament where he tied for third. He is currently playing at the Greenbrier Classic where he is eligible to earn a berth into the World Golf Championship and Bridgestone Invitational if he wins.
If ever there was a picture of consistency with a putter, it would be of Brian g*y. The 38-year-old American golfer has been ranked second on the PGA putting average statistics four consecutive years in a row from 2006 to 2009. This year he slipped to fifth place but still resides within the top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings.
Two time winner of the John Deere Classic Steve Striker is a consistent putter who makes sinking balls look easier than it actually is. His slow pendulum stroke has a distinct low-lying quality and has kept him a constant on the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, and will come in handy at next week’s Bridgestone Invitational.
Australian Aaron Baddeley is a smooth putter who has been one of the best since debuting in 2007. This 29-year-old has six top 10 finishes since 2008 and has been ranked third, eighth, and 16th in putts per round in his last three starts.
"Aaron Baddeley is different. He has a lot of finesse and a lot of feel," said fellow golfer Sam Utley to Golf Digest, a compliment that means a lot coming from the guy with one of the best short games in the sport.
Though Baddeley has yet to win a major event, his putting is the main reason he has been able to keep his PGA card.
Luke Donald played last year’s Memorial Cup with a round of 64 in which he made an astounding 20 putts. Though he didn’t break the PGA record for putts in one round – the record stands at 18 putts – Donald came closer than most players could ever hope to in their career and earned himself a spot in the elite list of top putting averages. The Englishman saw the inside of the top 10 on the Official World Golf Rankings in 2006 and was leading on five statistical putting lists in 2009.
Jim Furyk is ranked fifth on the Official World Golf Rankings, a position he earned with the help of his steady reliable putting. Furyk is the highest ranked player contending at this week’s Greenbrier Classic and already earned himself a position in the Bridgestone Invitational. With the help of his Scotty Cameron putter, the same one Woods has relied on for 11 years, Furyk has played a solid short game throughout the 20 years he has been a professional.
Canadian golden child Mike Weir has averaged 29 putts per round every year since 2006. He disappointed fans when he couldn’t make the cut at last week’s Canadian Open at St George’s Golf and Country Club, but is without doubt an above average striker and owes his fame to his skill with the putter. He’ll be hoping to at least make it past the cut at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Carl Pettersson, winner of the Canadian Open, is a Swedish golfer with unheralded skills on the green. He has an average of 3.61 birdies per round and has made birdies on 20 percent of the par-four holes he has encountered.
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