Team TaylorMade at the Opening Major of 2022

There’s no shortage of excitement surrounding the first men’s major championship of 2022.

The star-studded TaylorMade roster in Georgia includes the reigning world number one, the reigning Open Champion, and a legend poised to potentially make his return to competition, seeking a sixth jacket. Here are some key numbers to know as the first major of 2022 gets underway on Thursday.

Collin Morikawa

Elite approach play is essential in Augusta: five of the last seven champions have ranked in the top-five that week in strokes gained approach. Three of those champions led the field in that statistic, including Tiger Woods in 2019. There has been no better iron player on Tour the last several years than Collin Morikawa: over the last three seasons, his average of 0.97 strokes gained approach per round is most of any player.

Morikawa comes to Augusta with improved putting statistics, too. This season, Morikawa has jumped more than 140 spots in strokes gained putting, from 178th to 31st. He ranks 11th on Tour in putts per green in regulation – which equals a lot of birdies when you hit as many GIR as Morikawa does (72.2%, 7th on Tour).

At last year’s Open, Morikawa became the first player since 1926 to win a second major championship in eight starts or fewer. Morikawa can grab the third leg of the career grand slam with a victory this week in Georgia.

Scottie Scheffler
So much for wading carefully into the limelight: for the first time in 31 years, a player will make his first official start as the world’s number one ranked player in Augusta. Scottie Scheffler’s ascent in the Ranking is undeniably unique: in a span of 42 days, Scheffler went from winless on the PGA Tour to world number one. Scheffler is sporting a scoring average of 69.45 since the beginning of 2022, no small feat after facing the tough courses of the Florida Swing.

Scheffler enters the week with six straight top-20 finishes in major championships. Since the beginning of 2021, he has a cumulative score to par of 26-under in the majors, second-best of any player in that span. Scheffler is also one of just three players averaging 4 birdies or more per round in majors since the beginning of 2018 (Morikawa is one of the other two).

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy arrives in Georgia once again looking for membership in golf’s most exclusive club: only five men in history have completed the modern grand slam. This will be the eighth time McIlroy has played in Augusta needing only the elusive final leg to complete what only Tiger Woods has in the last 50 years.

McIlroy has been excellent off the tee in recent years at this course – since 2015, he has gained 1.24 strokes per round off the tee, second-most of any player with 10 or more rounds played in that span. Rory’s six top-ten finishes in Augusta since 2009 are the most of any player in that stretch. He enters this week averaging 1.35 strokes gained tee-to-green per round, which would be his highest season average since 2019.

Dustin Johnson

Less than two years ago, Dustin Johnson rewrote the record book, finishing the 2020 tournament with a record-breaking score of 20-under-par. After a strong showing at the Match Play, Johnson looks to be rounding into championship form just in time for the season’s first major.

Johnson is a combined 34-under-par in Augusta the last five years, tied for the best score of any player in that span. His 1.68 strokes gained ball striking per round at Augusta since 2015 lead all qualified players. And he’s ranked fifth in strokes gained putting on Augusta greens in that span too – a lethal combination that all came together in that unique November victory.

Tommy Fleetwood

After making the cut in each of his last four trips to Augusta, Tommy Fleetwood could be poised to become the third Englishman to win the jacket. Fleetwood has excelled with his short game this season, ranking second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained around-the-green. He’s also up 77 spots in strokes gained total, and currently 16th on Tour in scoring average – promising numbers for a man with three top-five finishes in major championships.

Sergio Garcia

2017 champion Sergio Garcia returns again to the scene of his greatest triumph. The Spaniard’s elite play off the tee hasn’t dipped one bit: he enters this week’s Tournament ranked 3rd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee – the exact end-of-season ranking he posted in the statistic in both 2020 and 2021. His putting statistics have skyrocketed in 2022 – Garcia is gaining 0.46 strokes putting per round this season on Tour, good for 29th – up 144 spots from last season.

Tiger Woods

He’s called playing this week a ‘game-time decision,’ but it’s difficult to not be encouraged by the possible return to competition of Tiger Woods. Just three years ago, Woods orchestrated a performance that will be etched in the memories of sports fans forever. His celebratory embrace of his family behind the 18th green, in the same place he hugged his father in celebration 22 years earlier, is an irreplaceable moment in golf history.

Woods was excellent that week through the bag, but his approach play was what truly put him over the top on his road to green jacket number five. Woods led the field for the week in greens in regulation (80.6%) and strokes gained approach. His GIR number was the highest by a tournament winner since Woods himself in 2001, when he hit 83% en route to completing the ‘Tiger Slam.’

Just the visage of Woods walking the fairways of Augusta once again would be enough of a gift for golf fans. But could he really compete for the title this week? As he’s shown us for decades, it’s not a winning proposition to doubt Tiger.