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From Hogan's Alley to Bomber's Paradise
Roadmap release timeframe, Charles Schwab Championship metrics, and trending player analytics
Cole Freeman
May 26, 2025
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In this week's newsletter:
- What we are building
- Tournament recap
- Trending player analytics
Our Data Struggles 😤
So we've been toying with different ways to get our data, because, well, it's just not that accessible. We've finally settled on a source after a months and now it's time to build out our systems.
The golf data landscape is crazy. You'd think this would be accessible like the College Football API (https://api.collegefootballdata.com/) but the PGA Tour guards ShotLink like Fort Knox. Only the few have been allowed to enter and access the data.
Scraping public tournament results gets tricky too. ESPN exposes their API publicly, but there is no documentation, and the terms of service specifically prohibit commercial use of their data.
There are other third party sources out there, some better than others, and this is the avenue we'll have to travel down for the near future. So after a month of dead ends we're going to do the best we can to bring value to this community.
Here's what we have in store in terms of releases 👇
🕵️♂️ Tournament Intelligence Pipeline - We'll be releasing this by the the June 15th newsletter so we can bring you more data driven tournament results from our own pipelines.
📊 Data viz framework - This is going to take us the longest, and it is what will provide you the most value. Ben and I believe in building in public and we just want to provide value for you. That said we want to have a data viz MVP out by the middle of summer.
💰 Value picks model - We're currently working on a model about how to best pick players for the next tournament. It's not just a guess, we're building an entire pipeline around this and will make adjustments as we go. Expect to see this timeline around the end of summer.
⏱️ Real time updates pipeline - Get updated on twitter about tournament leaderboards and big moves in real time. Expect this to be released sometime this summer. It can come pretty quick once the tournament intelligence pipeline is finished.
We've been at it for a month now! If you're enjoying our newsletter, please share it with your network.
Recapping the Charles Schwab at Colonial ⛳
Colonial Country Club is one of the shortest courses on tour. It also has some of the most narrow fairways out there. The rough is punishing, and if you've watched this tournament, alot of players are hitting it into hazards.
This is exactly why Colonial is nicknamed "Hogan's Alley," it rewards precision over power. At just 7,005 yards, it's not about bombing drives. It's about course management and keeping your ball in play on some of the tightest fairways the pros face all year.
But this year was a different story. Keep it between the trees and avoid the water, and suddenly Colonial was playing right into the hands of the long ball hitters.
The course really favored the boomers and if you're Scottie Scheffler, not even the hazards could hold you back.
In case you missed it, check out Scotties recovery on the 7th in the second round.
That recovery shot perfectly shows what separated the field this week, long ball hitters had options, even if they were in trouble.
It's a fascinating shift from Colonial's usual storyline. Instead of punishing distance, this year the bombers had a real advantage as long as they kept it somewhere reasonable. Even when they didn't, they could recover.
Keep scrolling to see how it all shook out:
Charles Schwab Challenge Final Leaderboard:
Ben Griffin
Matti Schmid
Bud CauleyTournament data updated: May 25, 2025 by UnderPar
Where it mattered 🎯
Here's the deal, while Colonial favored the long drivers this week, where it mattered most was with the short stick. The top 3 finishers all putted the ball extremely well, all finishing in the top 10 for Strokes Gained: Putting. Ben Griffin was no exception, gaining 1.64 strokes against the field for the tournament. He ranked 3rd overall putting for the tournament this week. This proves you can bomb it all you want, but you've gotta get it done with the flat stick too.
Story of the week: Rickie Fowler was in the hunt. He putted the ball extremely well in rounds 2 and 3 where he was 9 under par for the 2 rounds. The flat stick kinda left him in the final round where he only gained 0.88 strokes against the field putting. Let's see if he can keep it going in the next few weeks and break back in the winners circle again.
| METRIC | Ben Griffin -12 | Matti Schmid -11 |
|---|---|---|
| SG: PUTTING Strokes gained on the green | +1.64 | +2.16 |
| SG: AROUND GREEN Strokes gained in short game | +0.61 | +0.03 |
| SG: APPROACH Strokes gained on approach shots | +0.51 | +0.93 |
| SG: OFF THE TEE Strokes gained on tee shots | +0.58 | -0.05 |
| SG: TEE TO GREEN Combined T2G performance | +1.70 | +0.92 |
| SG: TOTAL Overall strokes gained | +3.33 | +3.08 |
| FINAL ROUND R4 score | +1 | +2 |
Grip it and Rip it ⛳
The bombers took over Colonial this week! This course typically favors the straight hitters. You'll typically see alot of guys choose clubs off the tee to keep it in the fairway, but the hardened course conditions favored long ball hitters this week. They just needed to keep it between the tress and out of the hazards. It's rare to see Colonial play into the hands of long ball hitters, but this week proves you don't always have to be precise.
Cool stat ❄️
Ben Griffin is starting to make a name for himself on Tour. Following his breakthrough team victory at the Zurich Classic, he delivered his best major championship performance with a T8 finish at the PGA Championship. Now he's captured his first individual Tour victory this weekend.
- Griffin has gained +2.83 (+1.64 and +1.19) strokes on the field putting over his last two starts
- In a world of big hitters, Griffin breaks that mold a bit gaining most of his strokes from fairway to green
Some Picks for the Memorial Tournament🏆
Setting the scene 🖼️
The 2025 Memorial Tournament takes place at the famed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, OH. Scottie Scheffler will look to defend his title having edged out Collin Morikawa last year by one stroke. Muirfield is a challenging course with water in play on 11 holes. Being a signature event the field will be stout with 24 of the world's top 25 participating, Rory McIlroy being the sole T10 opting to sit out in prep for the US Open.
A key stat to keep in mind with be SG on Approach as accurate iron play is important at Muirfield. The past 3 winners, Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, and Billy Horschel are all strong iron players.
Scottie Scheffler
I just simply can't leave him out. When the best in the world get together for a Signature event, this guy comes to play. He has won 2 of his last 3 starts with a T4 this week at Colonial. Scottie gains strokes against the field everywhere, but his world class iron play is what makes him a favorite at Muirfield Village this week.
Ludvig Aberg
Aberg hasn't been his best the past few starts since his solo 7th at The Masters. That being said, I don't feel like you can keep this guy down for too long. He is an incredible ball striker, he seemingly has that second gear that only a few have, and he oftentimes keeps himself in the mix in the big events. I am going out on a limb a bit for him given his struggles the past few starts, but I like this week as a bounce back for Aberg.
Si Woo Kim
Si Woo is also a bounce back pick. He struggled some at Colonial with a T28 finish. Si Woo can't seem to put 4 solid rounds together in a tournament, but watch out when he does. Si Woo's game has been trending in the right direction. Other than this week he's finished T8, T17 and T15. Si Woo has finished in the top 20 the past 5 years at Muirfield with his best coming in 2023 where he finished 4th. Let's see if Si Woo can put 4 solid rounds together this week for the Memorial.