Genworth Stats Pack - Avantha Masters Preview

Two time champion S.S.P Chowrasia deserves centre stage for this one. The 5 feet 5 inches tall, 34 year old golfer from Calcutta has started the year pretty steadily, making three cuts from four events (with a best of tied 17th in Abu Dhabi). But his early season Genworth Statistics highlight that he is not one of the longer hitters, and that he currently ranks below average for Greens in Regulation. S.S.P does however possess an excellent short game, which should serve him well around this course.

India’s most recognised golfer Jeev Milkha Singh has played four times on the European Tour so far in 2013, producing two good finishes and two missed cuts. Currently he ranks high for the Genworth short game and putting categories but he has not yet produced his best golf with the longer clubs. If Jeev can improve his accuracy from the tee just a little, it should enable him to hit more greens, in-turn helping him to score consistently better.

Felipe Aguilar arrives as the form player this week. The 38 year old golfer from Chile has broken 70 in eleven of his last twelve rounds of competitive play, amassing three top ten finishes in a row (with tied 3rd finishes in his last two events). Looking at his Genworth Statistics, he ranks 8th for Stroke Average, made up of some very straight driving, solid approach play and a superb short game. From a total of 56 Par 3 holes Felipe has converted 14 birdies against just 3 bogeys to rank 3rd for Par 3 Scoring.

Thongchai Jaidee is playing with great consistency in the early season. He has already racked up three top ten finishes and is yet to make a double bogey score on any hole from 16 rounds played. The 43 year old golfer from Thailand currently ranks 14th for the Genworth Stroke Average statistic, and is averaging 73.6% Greens in Regulation (ranking 31st). Look for the five time European Tour winner to go well.

Two-time BMW PGA Champion Anders Hansen is lightly raced having competed just three times on the European Tour so far in 2013. His Genworth Statistics highlight that he has driven the ball well, hitting 70% of the fairways, and his short game is very strong. But whilst his Par 3 Scoring is excellent he seems to be struggling on the Par 5 holes, converting just 8 birdies from 40 attempts. This in turn is leaving him down in 119th position for overall Birdies per Round. Some better scoring on the longest holes should help generate some momentum this week.

Four-time European Tour winner David Howell has made twelve straight cuts and is showing the levels of consistency that he enjoyed back in 2006 when he ranked inside the world top ten. His Genworth Statistics highlight no real weaknesses. With 73.3% Greens in Regulation together with superb short game figures and solid putting, the 37 year old Englishman is one of the favourites to take the title.

The 2012 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year is in a rich vein of form off the back of four top ten finishes in his last five events, and is one of the favourites this week. The 30 year old golfer from Portugal ranks 5th for the all-important Genworth Stroke Average ranking and 19th for Greens in Regulation. With world class scoring across the different hole types and an average of 4.83 Birdies per Round, look for Ricardo to go well once again.

Grégory Bourdy arrives off the back of a 2nd place finish at the Africa Open. But although the 30 year old French golfer ranks high for the Genworth Stroke Average ranking (due to strong Par 3 and Par 4 Scoring) his tournament results have been quite erratic. There are simply no patterns to his form, with two top three finishes thrown in amongst a string of mediocre performances. If Grégory can improve his Par 5 scoring in India this week he may go well.

Defending champion Jbe Kruger has played the most rounds on the European Tour so far this season (28 alongside Darren Fichardt and Garth Mulroy). The 26 year old South African has finished in the money in each of his seven starts but has managed only one top ten finish so far. The same as Jeev Milkha Singh, if Jbe can improve his accuracy from the tee just a little bit, it should produce the desired knock on effect through his game, helping him to score better, especially on the Par 5 holes.

The 26 year old golfer from Nuneaton in England is enjoying a very lucrative early season, currently ranking highest on the Race to Dubai out of the Qualifying School Graduates (34th). We can see from his Genworth Statistics that Andy Sullivan is very strong both off the tee and into the greens, and that he has a lot of potential. This course should suit his game, especially if he improves his Par 3 Scoring, as few tour players will have played the course before.