Driving Accuracy Leaders By Year on Champions Tour

Hitting fairways? That's something a lot of "older" golfers are better at than younger golfers. At least on the golf courses that you and I play. What about at the pro level? Which golfers have led the Champions Tour in driving accuracy over the years?

The Champions Tour calls this statistic "Driving Accuracy Percentage," as it measures how good golfers are hitting the fairway with their tee shots. To produce this stat, the Tour counts the number of tee shots (regardless of club used) a golfer hits on par-4 and par-5 holes and how many times those tee shots wind up in the fairway. The percent of balls that come to rest in the fairway is a golfer's "Driving Accuracy Percentage."

Yearly Champions Tour Driving Accuracy Leaders

These are the annual leaders on the Champions Tour in percentage of fairways hit:

2024 — Fred Funk, 81.79 percent
2023 — Jerry Kelly, 82.52
2022 — Jerry Kelly, 82.11
2020-21 — Fred Funk, 83.91 (The Tour combines these two years into one for stats purposes due to the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.)
2019 — Bart Bryant, 80.34
2018 — Paul Goydos, 78.32
2017 — Fred Funk, 82.42
2016 — Jeff Hart, 81.62
2015 — Jeff Hart, 81.15
2014 — Joe Durant, 85.87
2013 — Jeff Hart, 81.14
2012 — Fred Funk, 79.86
2011 — Corey Pavin, 82.11
2010 — Allen Doyle, 82.23
2009 — Scott Simpson, 82.25
2008 — David Edwards, 80.00
2007 — David Edwards, 80.52
2006 — David Edwards, 83.79
2005 — John Bland, 84.16
2004 — Allen Doyle, 84.08
2003 — Doug Tewell, 81.50
2002 — Doug Tewell, 83.57
2001 — John Bland, 81.39
2000 — Calvin Peete, 83.86
1999 — Hubert Green, 80.80
1998 — Calvin Peete, 80.35
1997 — John Bland, 81.03
1996 — Deane Beman, 79.65
1995 — Charles Sifford, 81.21
1994 — Calvin Peete, 84.13
1993 — Charles Sifford, 78.16
1992 — Jerry Barber, 82.70
1991 — Jerry Barber, 78.78
1990 — Alexander Sutton, 78.64
1989 — Charles Sifford, 77.53
1988 — Kel Nagle, 77.68

A couple things worth pointing out:

• The highest percentage of fairways hit to lead the Champions Tour so far is 85.87-percent, a figure recorded by Joe Durant in 2014. That is also the only time so far a golfer led the senior tour with a figure higher than 85-percent. Durant, by the way, also led the PGA Tour Driving Accuracy stats several times.
• The lowest figure to top the Driving Accuracy statistical category is the 77.53-percent recorded by Charlie Sifford in 1989. That was the first of three times Sifford topped the standings.
• Jerry Barber led the senior circuit in Driving Accuracy in 1991 and 1992 when he was, respectively, 75 and 76 years old.

You can compare the list above to the Champions Tour Driving Distance leaders.