Champ's Historic Driving Dominance Gets The West Coast Swing Test

This week’s Farmer’s Insurance Open returns to Torrey Pines where heavy air and thick rough awaits, as I noted in this mini-Monday vlog for Golfweek.

Golf.com’s Mark Broadie notes that Cameron Champ is on a historic pace regarding strokes gained driving and while it may all sound pretty wonky, he does a nice job summing up how much Champ is benefitting from distance and amazing accuracy given his swing speed.

At the time of this writing, Champ leads all Tour players in strokes gained driving, with a massive gain of 1.5 strokes per round. To put that in perspective, the leader in this stat category averaged a gain of 1.0 strokes per round from 2004 through 2018. (Note: Bubba Watson set the pace in 2012 at 1.5 strokes per round, so while Champ’s performance is extraordinary thus far, it’s also bordering on historic.)

Nothing against the golf courses of the fall, but it will be interesting to see if Champ’s advantage actually gains momentum at a time of year where there is often less roll and heavier air. I’m betting he will.