Yearly PGA Tour Strokes Gained Around the Green Leaders

"Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green" is the name of a statistic on the PGA Tour that measures a golfer's performance on shots played from around the green — short pitches, chip shots, bunker shots — against the performance on those shots of the tournament field as a whole.

If a golfer has an "SG: Around-the-Green" average of .500, that means the golfer is a half-stroke better, relative to the field, on those types of shots. Or, to put it another way, that golfer gains a half-stroke relative to the rest of the field on those shots.

But Strokes Gained Around the Green averages above .500 are rare; typically, in a given year, only the top handful of golfers in this statistical category are above .500.

The List: Strokes Gained Around the Green Leaders

2024 — Hideki Matsuyama, 0.618
2023 — Jonathan Byrd, .525
2022 — Matt Kuchar, .519
2021 — Kevin Na, .702
2020 — Jason Day, .632
2019 — Byeong Hun An, .631
2018 — Aaron Baddeley, .595
2017 — Tim Wilkinson, .538
2016 — Steve Stricker, .544
2015 — Kevin Na, .660
2014 — Justin Leonard, .571
2013 — Luke Donald, .628
2012 — Justin Rose, .567
2011 — Kevin Na, .593
2010 — Mike Weir, .559
2009 — Chris Riley, .728
2008 — Chris Riley, .650
2007 — Ian Poulter, .653
2006 — Ernie Els, .619
2005 — Corey Pavin, .521
2004 — Corey Pavin, .535

The highest SG: Around-the-Green average yet recorded is the .728 by Chris Riley in 2009. Only several golfers have won this stat ranking more than once so far. Strokes Gained Around the Green is calculated through a complex mathematical formula and based on PGA Tour ShotLink data.