Genworth Stats Pack - Ballantine's Championship Preview

Louis Oosthuizen competes in the Ballantine’s Championship for the first time. The current world number 7 has won once so far in 2013 (at the Volvo Golf Champions in January) but he arrives to compete over the Blackstone course off the back of a missed cut at The Masters. Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, the 30 year old South African ranks 6th for Driving Distance, 25th for Greens in Regulation and 6th for Par 4 Scoring, but interestingly he ranks down in 126th for Par 5 Scoring and is yet to convert an eagle. Louis starts as the tournament favourite.

Bernd Wiesberger won this event last year by five shots, in doing so hitting 76.4% of the greens in regulation (ranking 12th) and taking just 111 putts in total (ranking 2nd). He arrives with steady early season form which includes one top ten finish (last time out in Morocco). The long hitting 27 year old golfer from Austria is actually not far off a big week. He just needs to be a little straighter off the tee on the longer holes and slightly sharper around the greens.

Richie Ramsay finished 13th at this event in 2011 and then second last year so he obviously loves the layout of the Blackstone course. If we combine the Genworth Statistics for all the players that have competed in both 2011 and 2012, the 29 year old Scottish golfer would rank 2nd for Stroke Average (behind Miguel Angel Jiménez), 2nd for Driving Accuracy (behind James Morrison) and 1st for Greens in Regulation. Richie seems to be in good form so we look for him to go well.

Marcus Fraser has enjoyed fantastic results at this event and course. Since 2009 his has finished 34th, Win, 27th and 3rd. The 34 year old golfer from Australia has played a tuff schedule of events so far this year so it is not surprising to see his long game statistics ranking a little low. But just look at his short games statistics. Marcus is known for his quality around the greens but when you take into consideration the schedule played, his touch is simply superb.

Alexander Noren has competed in this event on three previous occasions (2010/11/12) with top ten finishes in each of the last two years at Blackstone Golf Club, so the course obviously fits his eye. The 30 year old Swedish golfer is in excellent early season form, with a Genworth Stroke Average of 69.89 (ranking 16th). Although his Driving statistics look pretty awful on paper, he is actually hitting lots of greens and scrambling and putting very well. The knock-on effect is Alexander is actually making very few bogeys and others scores.

Paul Casey has competed in this event once before (last year when he finished 25th). He arrives in consistent form but he is yet to fire on all cylinders. Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, the 35 year old English golfer has averaged 76.1% Greens in Regulation (ranking 11th) plus he is hitting 19.1% of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation (two shots). A good putting week looks to be all that is standing between Paul and his 12th European Tour title.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat has made a very big name for himself this year with a 4th place finish at the Avantha Masters and then a win at the Maybank Malaysian Open. His Genworth Season Statistics are astonishingly good because he has only played those two events, so we expect them to settle down once more rounds have been played. But all eyes will be on the 23 year old talent from Thailand this week to see if he can do it again. With a 15th place finish in this event last year and a 27th place finish in 2011, the odds look good.

Wen-Chong Liang has competed at this event on all five previous occasions with a best of 27th in 2011 (oddly he has had to withdraw twice). The 34 year old golfer from China is lightly raced on the European Tour so far in the early season (having played just three events), but looking at his Genworth Statistics, Wen-Chong has a sublime touch on and around the greens. He ranks 6th for Scrambles, 4th for Sand Saves, 10th for Putts per GIR, 3rd for Putts per Round and 7th for 1 Putts per Round.

With such a long and dramatic playoff last week in Spain, let’s hope Raphaël Jacquelin and his caddy made their connecting flights to South Korea for this week’s event, where he competes for the first time. Prior to that victory the 38 year old Frenchman had been performing steadily in the early season but seemed to be awaiting a big week to kick start the year. Following such a draining tournament as well as a long journey to South Korea it will be interesting to see how Raphaël performs.

Felipe Aguilar was the third member of the marathon playoff last week in Spain but he was knocked out after three holes (it was his third top three finish of the year). The 38 year old golfer from Chile has played in all five previous Ballantine’s Championships with a best of 7th last year (where he hit 79.2% of the greens in regulation over the four days). Looking at his Genworth Season Statistics, Felipe’s long game is in great shape. He ranks 25th for Driving Accuracy and 48th for Greens in Regulation, which are the foundations of his 70.58 Stroke Average.