The Clubs Paul Casey Used to Win the Valspar Championship Again
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Why Paul Casey is a perfect fit at the Valspar Championship
Englishman is going for the three-peat this calendar week in Florida
- April 27, 2021
ByJustin Ray , 15th Lodge for PGATOUR.COM
- April 27, 2021
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Paul Casey will look to continue his Valspar Championship dominance this week. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Winning once on the PGA TOUR? That's difficult enough.
Winning three times is fifty-fifty more hard, permit lone three in a row at the same event.
That's why the 'three-peat' is an exceedingly rare occurrence on the PGA TOUR. Withal Paul Casey has the potential to win his 3rd consecutive Valspar Championship this week, having taken dwelling the title in both 2018 and 2019 (the tournament was canceled final year due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Over the last 40 years, there have only been eight instances of a role player winning a tournament three or more times in a row. Tiger Wood did information technology vi times. The other 2 occurrences in the last four decades were Stuart Appleby at the Lookout Tournament of Champions (2004-06) and Steve Stricker at the John Deere Archetype (2009-eleven). Non merely would Casey exist the first player since Stricker a decade ago to 'three-peat' in any single event, simply he would also be the beginning European role player to practice it in the PGA Bout's mod era.
And so what makes Casey a perfect fit for Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course? 15th Club examined a thorough combination of course traits and thespian strengths that help brand this the quintessential layout for the affable Englishman.
Copperhead Characteristics
The Copperhead annually provides i of the more difficult arroyo-play tests on the PGA TOUR. In 2019, the field hit the green in regulation only 54.1% of the time – the lowest percentage of any form on Tour all season. For context, the PGA TOUR average across all courses that season was 66.0%.
Not merely does this atomic number 82 to more inherent value in precision approach play, information technology all but assures that players will face more scrambling opportunities than normal during the Valspar Championship. Since 2010, winners at this event have had an average of 23.four scrambling attempts for the week – a significant uptick from the PGA TOUR average during that same bridge, of 18.8. The boilerplate ranking in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green for Valspar Championship winners since 2010 is 15.five. Compare that to the PGA TOUR average for winners since 2010: nearly 10 spots lower, at 24.two.
Meanwhile, operation off the tee is far less meaning at the Copperhead Course than near weeks. Since 2010, the boilerplate field rank in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee at the Valspar Title is a rather pedestrian 31.i. The Tour average for winners the terminal decade-plus is 18.7. While Casey is anything only short, this does lessen the reward that the big hitters accept. Longer players are far less likely to be able to take reward of driving altitude at this layout.
Paul Casey is one of the top approach players on Bout which is required effectually the Copperhead Class. (Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
Precision Arroyo
Casey has ranked inside the top 15 of Strokes Gained: Approach for seven consecutive seasons, tied with Hideki Matsuyama for the longest active run on Bout. Casey is in expert position to extend his streak, every bit well, ranking 14th in that stat this year. His approach play is easily the strongest facet of his globe-grade skillset: in every flavor since 2014, he has gained the highest percentage of his strokes against the field with his approaches.
The range from which players face approach shots at Copperhead is particularly telling, too. At the 2019 Valspar Title, players faced more arroyo shots from 200-225 yards abroad (872 of them for the week) than approach shots from 125-150 yards out (755). The field routinely faces an inordinate number of approach shots from more than than 200 yards away – the Copperhead Course has had an average ranking, by flavor, of 6.0 in number of approaches from that distance amid PGA TOUR venues since 2010.
This plays straight into Casey's strengths. This flavor, he'due south the PGA TOUR leader in average proximity to the hole on approach shots outside 200 yards (41'x", more than 12' better than the Bout average). He as well led the Bout in that statistic in the 2018 flavor, when he won his first Valspar title. In 2017, when Casey took dwelling house the Strokes Gained: Approach title for the season, he ranked 3rd on Tour in average proximity from 175-200 yards away.
Bear upon Around the Dark-green
While Casey does non necessarily have an elite short game, his play around the greens has improved significantly in recent seasons. In 2014 and 2015, Casey ranked outside the top-100 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Around the Dark-green. In the 'fourteen-15 season, Casey bottomed out at 150th on Bout in scrambling per centum.
Since then, his numbers around the greens have improved significantly. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Casey gained strokes around the greens each flavor. He climbed into the top-10 in scrambling pct in 2017, and currently ranks third on Tour this season in scrambling from the rough.
He shined particularly brightly in his dorsum-to-back Valspar wins with his brusque game, ranking in the top-10 both years in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Light-green. In his 2018 victory, he got upward-and-downwards 23 of 28 times, the third-best percentage in the field for the week.
Casey's combination of approach proficiency and improved touch make him a perfect lucifer for this week.
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Source: https://www.pgatour.com/news/2021/04/27/why-paul-casey-is-a-perfect-fit-at-the-valspar-championship.html
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