Remember when Scottie Scheffler impaled his hand with a wine glass? Remember when Rory McIlroy was the best player in the world for, like, two months? Remember when the season changed for Collin Morikawa?
It may feel like ages ago that all those things happened, but it wasn’t. It’s only been a couple of months. Though they were big months in the grand scheme of the golf world. With the close of the 2025 PGA Tour season, it’s time to list out some of our favourite stats that really explain the year, starting with Scheffler.
Scottie’s scoring
It’s not easy to parse through the last three years of Scottie Scheffler. They’ve all been so damn good! But something about this season will always stick with me: any way you cut it up, he’s 1st.
It doesn’t matter if he’s going off early, going off late, grinding through the front nine or the back. He simply rose above every other player in every scoring category imaginable. But if you need one line to explain his dominance, think about how scoring gets dished out on a scorecard. Scheffler made the most birdies per round, avoided bogeys the most, and whenever he did make bogey or worse, he bounced back with a birdie at the best rate on Tour. It’s hard to imagine anyone beating that over 72 holes.
Funny thing about Scottie Scheffler’s season: any way you cut it up, he’s there.
Birdie average: 1st
Bogey avoidance: 1st
Bounce-back: 1st
Front 9 scoring: 1st
Back 9 scoring: 1st
A.M. tee time: 1st
P.M. tee time: 1st
Par-5 scoring: 1st
Par-4 scoring: 1st
Par-3 scoring: 3rd!
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) August 25, 2025
Harry Hall’s many, many birdies
That said, Harry Hall made more birdies. We’re talking total birdies, though. Hall led the Tour with 429 circles on his 2025 PGA Tour scorecards, a stunning 52 more than second place finisher Sam Burns. Of course, this number was aided by Hall playing more events than many of the best players in the world, but good golf begets more of it in August, when you can keep qualifying for the next event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Hall’s birdie-count is really just an interesting way to get into his pursuit of the Ryder Cup. It’s looking unlikely that he will crack Luke Donald’s European team, but he has been playing like one of the 15 best golfers in the world the last few months. Leaving that on the table would be quite the decision.
The Twins keep Twinning
Hall’s RC campaign was undercut in a major way on Sunday when Rasmus Hojgaard played well enough to qualify automatically for Team Europe. It is looking increasingly likely that the European team will be extremely similar to what we saw in 2023, with Nicolai Hojgaard subbed out for his brother. All of which would feel ironic and weird if they weren’t basically the same player.
They both play a game of speed, which is the modern way of manufacturing PGA Tour success. But their twinning was a bit too literal for me. Nicolai averaged 319 yards off the tee this year. Rasmus averaged 318. And how did they get to that distance? By both averaging 187 mph of ball speed.
One of these is Rasmus Hojgaard.
The other is Nicolai Hojgaard.
Hoping Luke Donald isn’t opposed to trotting out Nico at the Ryder Cup and having everyone call him Ras. pic.twitter.com/RKDcPI6oFU
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) August 25, 2025
Russell Henley the Conservative
The Hojgaards are kings at going for the green, which is to say they like trying to drive the green on par-4s and most often go for par-5s with their second shots. But that doesn’t necessarily lead to success.
Russ Henley is one of the five best golfers on the planet and is going about it completely differently. Henley only went for the green 40% of the time in those potential lay-up moments in 2025, and still somehow gained strokes better than all but three golfers this year. That goes against everything we’re supposed to believe about the modern pro golfer. But it shows you just how good and consistent Henley has been, especially after he took down Morikawa in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Even more crazy might be the fact that just three golfers went for the green less than Henley, and one of them won twice. It’s Brian Campbell, who finished last in the Tour in this stat of aggressiveness, yet somehow still racked up two victories.
Rory’s epic putting
Hidden behind his victories and long-game brilliance — and certainly lost in the chaos of his Masters victory — Rory McIlroy was one of the best putters in the world this season. He has long been one of the best drivers in the world — and frankly might be the greatest driver the game has ever seen. But McIlroy’s flat-stick has been up and down his whole career.
In 2017, it cratered well below PGA Tour average. During his 2019 season, it was great, and part of the reason why he won Player of the Year. But this season, he was 8th-best in Strokes Gained: Putting, and was ranked even higher until a tricky week in Atlanta.
Does this matter? If it’s a trend, then yes, of course. McIlroy had the best putting season of his life, which is great recency bias if you like him to play five matches at Bethpage.
Hossler the Scrambler
Beau Hossler did not have a good PGA Tour season, but he did compile one of those stats that amateurs like myself just have a really hard time grasping. From inside 10 yards, but off the green, Hossler was 73 for 74 in getting up and down for par.
Nearly 100% in more than 70 tries on shots that, frankly, can be some of the trickiest on the golf course. Short-sided, in a deep bunker, on the curtain up against the cut of rough. Hossler’s short game is his calling card, and he obviously led the Tour in that stat. I shudder to think what my percentage would be from those spots.
McCarthy the Hooper
One of my favourite discussions on the PGA Tour this year was a convo about putting at the U.S. Open with Denny McCarthy, who witnessed Sam Burns put on a ridiculous display through the first two rounds at Oakmont.
McCarthy was the best person to talk to because, well, he’s the only person who might actually be a better putter than Burns, who led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. To hear what one of the best putters likes about the skills of one of the other best putters, check it out here.
Otherwise, embrace this fun stat. McCarthy led the Tour in putts per tournament made longer than 10 feet. The eight-foot mark is your coin-flip distance, so from outside of a 50/50 chance, McCarthy averaged 7.5 putts made per tournament. It could be from 15 feet, 25 feet, even 60 feet. If it went in from where it’s not expected to, it counts. And McCarthy, to no surprise, tends to rank highly in this category annually.
Our conversation that day lent itself to basketball and the NBA Finals, which were happening at the time. Putting is a lot like free throw shooting. Repetitive motion. As few variables as possible. Just you and the bucket. Unsurprisingly, McCarthy boasts one of the most fundamentally sound jump shots on the PGA Tour.
This article originated on Golf.com
