Genworth Stats Pack - Volvo Golf Champions Preview

Ernie Els has been victorious over this course twice before, first in 1998 and then again at the 2011 South African Open Championship (played in December 2010). The tables below show his Genworth Statistics from his 2011 win, where he amassed 2 eagles and 26 birdies over a course that is now shorter than average in length by modern day tour standards. That week he led the Genworth Greens in Regulation statistic which is common for tournament winners to accomplish. Ernie is most definitely a Durban Country Club course specialist and will no doubt be heavily supported this week.

At the close of the 2012 European Tour season, Louis Oosthuizen led the Genworth Stroke Average and Scrambles rankings, and was piped at the final event for the Greens in Regulation ranking by Justin Rose. He also won the Overall Genworth Performance Award. It all makes a case for him being statistically the best player on the European Tour for the year, even when factoring in the world number one. Note that Louis finished 3rd the last time the European Tour visited Durban Country Club so he likes the course (his Genworth Statistics for that event are below). He is the world’s highest ranking player in the field and is playing on home soil. He is the tournament favourite.

The defending champion’s rise to fame in 2012 was astonishing. As a European Tour Qualifying School graduate Branden Grace won no less than 4 tournaments through the course of the season (a real Cinderella story). Interestingly when analysing his results and Genworth Statistics though, his form from week to week is harder to detect than your typical tour professional. Aside from his wins last year he finished in the top 10 on just two other occasions. His recent form since the BMW Masters shows that he is performing ok across the board without anything being outstanding. Perhaps another one of those big weeks is just around the corner.

Ask the question “who do you think will go well in 2013” and Paul Casey will be high on our list. He finished the 2012 season strongly and is well on the way back to form. For his most recent 16 rounds his Stroke Average is 69.19 and he is hitting 77.3% of Greens in Regulation. He is making lots of birdies and scoring well across the different hole types (being the Par 3’s, Par 4’s and Par 5’s). Paul won the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions event in 2011 which was held at The Royal Golf Club. We look for him to go well.

We just had to include Henrik Stenson in our pre-event report. His Genworth Statistics for his last 12 rounds of European Tour golf are incredible. With his Driving Accuracy being in the mid 60’s percentile and his Driving Distance averaging more than 300 yards, he is able to hit lots of greens. But there’s more. Henrik is scrambling well, his bunker play is sharp, and he is pouring in the eagles and birdies. Most astonishing of all is the number of greens that he is hitting in 2 shots on the Par 5’s, 22.9% is truly world class.

At 8,420 days of age (that’s just 23 years by the way) Thorbjørn Olesen is a rising star in the game of golf. Statistically he has a very solid all round game. He finished 9th at the 2011 South African Open Championship (played in December 2010) over this course, so that experience should serve him well. Note that he is beginning 2013 with a change in equipment. This can often act as a spark to produce something special, the same as a milestone birthday or becoming a father for the first time. With four 2nd place finishes and a win on the European Tour to date, Thorbjørn Olesen may achieve big things in 2013. Below are his Genworth Statistics for his most recent 16 rounds.