Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters, and he did it by the book. With all the story lines at this years Masters – from 14 year old Tianlang Guan and his slow play penalty / making the cut, to having the world exposed to Rule 33-7 – how Adam Scott won the Masters involved no secret formula.
Adam did what pretty much ever Masters champion has done to put on the green jacket. He hit 76.39% of the fairways (Field Average: 60.2%) and putted like a champion (1.67 Putts Per Green). He also only found one greenside bunker all week.
The stat that you shouldn’t be surprised at is his Fairway’s Hit (57.14%) compared to the field average of 65%. Hitting fairways at Augusta National has never been a key to victory.
So what can we learn from these numbers? If you want to win a Masters you better hit a boatload of greens and putt like it’s no ones business. That’s pretty much true for every Tour event, but is key if you want to own a new piece of clothing at the end of the week.
The everyday golfer can, and should take something away from this: Focus on your short game. Hitting big drives makes you feel good – but shooting the lowest score in your group will probably bring more satisfaction.
I encourage you to take a page out of Adam Scotts 2013 Masters victory and focus this year on your putting and wedges; I guarantee if you improve in those areas so will your scores.