Round 1 of the South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni produced 64 sub-par rounds and a field average score of 72.44. Matthew Nixon leads on -8 with Crespi, Kruger, Basson, Goosen and Schwartzel following behind. We analyse their performances and round up the early Genworth Statistics leaders.
Matthew Nixon -8
Matthew Nixon converted one eagle and seven birdies against a single bogey on his way to an opening 64. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 24 year old English golfer who finished the 2013 season in 105th position on the Race to Dubai, ranked 1st for all three official putting categories (in doing so taking just 22 putts in total). Although Matthew wasn’t able to demolish the Glendower Par 5’s like some of the other players, he definitely took care of business on the Par 3’s and Par 4’s (ranking 1st for scoring on those holes).
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 64.00 | 1 |
| Driving Accuracy | 42.9% | 67 |
| Driving Distance | 246 yds | 60 |
| Greens in Reg | 72.2% | 38 |
| Scrambles | 80.0% | 6 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.308 | 1 |
| Putts per Round | 22.0 | 1 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 12.00 | 1 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 2.25 | 1 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.60 | 1 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 4.75 | 88 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 1.00 | 1 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 7.00 | 1 |
| Pars per Rnd | 9.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 1.00 | 5 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 0 | 72 |
Marco Crespi -7
After finishing 3rd at the European Tour Qualifying School last week, Marco Crespi converted one eagle and six birdies against a single bogey on his way to an opening 65. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 35 year old Italian golfer ranked 1st for Driving Accuracy (with 12/14 fairways) which enabled him to then hit 15/18 Greens in Regulation together with 1.533 Putts per GIR (the combination of which suggests some quality approach shots).
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 65.00 | 2 |
| Driving Accuracy | 85.7% | 1 |
| Driving Distance | 292 yds | 39 |
| Greens in Reg | 83.3% | 12 |
| Scrambles | 66.7% | 17 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.533 | 4 |
| Putts per Round | 27.0 | 3 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 7.00 | 33 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 2.75 | 11 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.80 | 6 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 4.00 | 3 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 1.00 | 1 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 6.00 | 7 |
| Pars per Rnd | 10.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 1.00 | 5 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 1 | 34 |
Jbe Kruger -7
After a tough finish to the 2013 European Tour season (missing ten straight cuts), Jbe' Kruger converted one eagle and six birdies against a single bogey on his way to an opening 65. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 27 year old South African was strong across the board, averaging 308 yards off the tee, hitting 16/18 Greens in Regulation and taking just 29 putts in total - all leading to great scoring across the different hole types.
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 65.00 | 2 |
| Driving Accuracy | 57.1% | 29 |
| Driving Distance | 308 yds | 17 |
| Greens in Reg | 88.9% | 4 |
| Scrambles | 100.0% | 1 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.688 | 26 |
| Putts per Round | 29.0 | 28 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 8.00 | 15 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 2.50 | 3 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.90 | 12 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 4.00 | 3 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 1.00 | 1 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 6.00 | 7 |
| Pars per Rnd | 10.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 1.00 | 5 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 2 | 3 |
Retief Goosen -6
Retief Goosen converted seven birdies against a single bogey on his way to an opening 66. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 44 year old South African ranked 1st for Greens in Regulation (with 17/18 greens), plus he hit two of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation two shots as well. The only part of the Glendower course where the 14 time European Tour winner struggled was perhaps on the Par 3’s, with a 3.25 average (the Par 3’s being the 3rd / 6th / 14th / 17th holes ranked 8th / 9th / 12th / 2nd in difficulty on day one).
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 66.00 | 4 |
| Driving Accuracy | 42.9% | 67 |
| Driving Distance | 297 yds | 30 |
| Greens in Reg | 94.4% | 1 |
| Scrambles | 100.0% | 1 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.765 | 57 |
| Putts per Round | 31.0 | 64 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 6.00 | 57 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 3.25 | 79 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.60 | 1 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 4.25 | 15 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 0.00 | 30 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 7.00 | 1 |
| Pars per Rnd | 10.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 1.00 | 5 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 2 | 3 |
Christiaan Basson -6
Christiaan Basson converted one eagle and four birdies one his way to a bogey free opening round of 66 (we should highlight that the field accumulated no less than 29 eagles over the Glendower course on day one). Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 26 year old South African ranked down in 86th for Driving Accuracy (with just 5/14 fairways), but incredibly he still ranked 1st for Greens in Regulation (with 17 greens alongside Goosen). That’s an interesting combination.
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 66.00 | 4 |
| Driving Accuracy | 35.7% | 86 |
| Driving Distance | - | - |
| Greens in Reg | 94.4% | 1 |
| Scrambles | 100.0% | 1 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.824 | 73 |
| Putts per Round | 32.0 | 82 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 4.00 | 93 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 3.00 | 32 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.90 | 12 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 3.75 | 1 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 1.00 | 1 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 4.00 | 45 |
| Pars per Rnd | 13.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 3 | 1 |
Charl Schwartzel -5
Charl Schwartzel converted five birdies on his way to a bogey free opening round of 67. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 29 year old South African ranked 4th for Driving Distance (averaging a huge 327 yards off the tee) and 3rd for Putts per Round (taking just 27 putts in total) - a solid first day for the 8 time European Tour winner and hot favourite for this event.
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke Average | 67.00 | 6 |
| Driving Accuracy | 42.9% | 67 |
| Driving Distance | 327 yds | 4 |
| Greens in Reg | 72.2% | 38 |
| Scrambles | 100.0% | 1 |
| Sand Saves | - | - |
| Putts per GIR | 1.692 | 29 |
| Putts per Round | 27.0 | 3 |
| 1 Putts per Rnd | 9.00 | 3 |
| Tournament Stats | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 Scoring | 2.50 | 3 |
| Par 4 Scoring | 3.90 | 12 |
| Par 5 Scoring | 4.50 | 48 |
| Eagles per Rnd | 0.00 | 30 |
| Birdies per Rnd | 5.00 | 22 |
| Pars per Rnd | 13.00 | - |
| Bogeys per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Others per Rnd | 0.00 | 1 |
| Par 5's in 2 | 1 | 34 |
Official Genworth Statistics Leaders
- Stroke Average: 64.00
Matthew NIXON. - Driving Accuracy: 85.7%
Marco CRESPI, Damien MCGRANE. - Driving Distance: 335 yards
Brandon STONE. - Greens in Regulation: 94.4%
Brandon STONE, Retief GOOSEN, Christiaan BASSON. - Scrambles: 100%
ChristiaanBASSON, Retief GOOSEN, Jbe KRUGER, Attie SCHWARTZEL, Charl SCHWARTZEL. - Sand Saves: -
- Putts per GIR: 1.308
Matthew NIXON. - Putts per Round: 22
Matthew NIXON. - 1 Putts: 12
Matthew NIXON.
Other interesting statistics provided by the Genworth Stats Pack
- Par 3 Scoring: 2.25
Matthew NIXON, Simon DYSON. - Par 4 Scoring: 3.60
Matthew NIXON, Retief GOOSEN, Estanislao GOYA. - Par 5 Scoring: 3.75
Christiaan BASSON, Tom LEWIS. - Most Par 5 holes where green is hit in two shots: 3
Christiaan BASSON, Ruan DE SMIDT. - Most shots holed from off the green: 1
Matthew NIXON, Marco CRESPI, Steve SURRY, Robert ROCK, Bennie VAN DER MERWE, Alejandro CANIZARES, Alexander LEVY. - Least number of drop shots during the tournament: No dropped shots
Charl SCHWARTZEL, Christiaan BASSON. - Most 3 Putts: 4
Steve WEBSTER. - Most Eagles: 1
29 players. - Most Birdies: 7
Matthew NIXON, Morten MADSEN, Tom LEWIS, Simon DYSON, Attie SCHWARTZEL, Retief GOOSEN. - Most Pars: 15
Allan VERSFELD, Andrew CURLEWIS. - Most Bogeys: 10
Stephen SWANEPOEL. - Most Others: 3
Stephen SWANEPOEL, Pieter KRUGER, Zander LOMBARD, JB HANSEN, Pablo MARTIN BENAVIDES.
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Genworth and the European Tour present the Genworth Stats Pack, comprising of 5 reports per event (pre-event, after rounds 1, 2 and 3, and post-event). The reports will provide unique, interesting and useful information derived from expert analysis of the Genworth Statistics and several other sources, for example course information. The European Tour and Genworth truly hope this new tool will become essential in helping enhance the usability and understanding of the Genworth Statistics.
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