Top 10 Hitters in PGA
When we use the term ‘hitter’ in the context of golf, we mean a golf player “who favors a forceful, aggressive style of swing, ” as described by the PGA Golf Glossary. A hitter’s movement is less about smooth and fluid swings, and more violent to look at. A look at the driving distance stats of a golfer for the past five years will give the information about how many times he has been able to clinch a place in the top 10, and hence an idea about the skill of the longest hitters. The leaders in driving distance for the season will also help to understand the same, but, it is never enough to look at a single season, as a player can get mired or injured in the middle of it. Let us take a look at the Top 10 Hitters in PGA.
Top 10 Hitters in PGA
1. Brooks Koepka
American professional golfer Brooks Koepka was born on May 3, 1990, and played college golf at Florida State University. He achieved three events during his college days and became All-American three times. While still being an amateur, Koepka was qualified for the U.S. Open in 2012. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 315.0 meters per shot. He covered a total of 7,560 meters in this season with 24 drives in professional tournaments. Koepka turned professional in 2012 and started playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe. He won his first major event at the Challenge de Catalunya in September, 2012, and achieved the Montecchia Golf Open in 2013. Koepka won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his first PGA Tour event, on February 1, 2015.
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2. Tony Finau
American professional golfer Tony Finau was born on September 14, 1989, and turned professional at the age of just 17. He has college scholarship offers in basketball but later continued with Golf. Finau started participating in several mini-tours including the Gateway Tour, NGA Hooters Tour and National Pro Tour in his college days. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 309.5 meters per shot. He covered a total of 17,334 meters this season with 56 drives in professional tournaments. Finau made seven cuts in eight starts on the PGA Tour Canada in 2013. Tony Finau earned his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season after he finished in the 12th position in the Web.com Tour Finals. He with his brother Gipper also competed on the Golf Channel’s The Big Break in 2009.
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3. Ryan Palmer
American professional golfer Ryan Hunter Palmer was born on September 19, 1976, and currently plays on the PGA Tour. He started playing the Nationwide Tour in 2003 and won the Clearwater Classic. Palmer finished on the 6th position on the money list to earn his 2004 PGA Tour participation. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 308.6 meters per shot. He covered a total of 7,406 meters in this season with 24 drives in professional tournaments. Palmer achieved his PGA Tour win at the 2004 FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort. He also achieved the Sony Open in Hawaii as his third career PGA Tour title in January 2010. Recently, he lost a sudden-death playoff at the Honda Classic in March 2014.
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4. Hiroshi Iwata
Japanese professional golfer Hiroshi Iwata was born on 31 January 1981, and currently regarded as one of the most promising golfer from Japan. The 34-year old golfer is the current world no. 74. With his listed height of 5 feet 10 inches and listed weight of 163 lb, he recently created a sensation on ground for his amazing driving skill. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 307.5 meters per shot. He covered a total of 1,230 meters in this season with 4 drives in professional tournaments. Hiroshi Iwata turned professional in 2004 when he started participating on the Japan Golf Tour. He achieved his first victory at the Fujisankei Classic in 2014. Iwata also achieved second place at the Dunlop Phoenix Open and Token Homemate Cup in 2014.
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5. Charlie Beljan
American professional golfer Charlie Beljan was born on October 10, 1984, and currently plays on the PGA Tour. He achieved the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, in 2002 and later also achieved the 2006 Arizona Amateur. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 306.7 meters per shot. He covered a total of 8,587 meters this season with 28 drives in professional tournaments. Beljan turned professional in 2007 and started to participate on the Gateway Tour from 2008 to 2011. He held the first place on the money list in 2009. Beljan earned his 2012 PGA Tour entry by at the 13th place in a tie at 2011 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He achieved his first PGA tour title at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic on November 11, 2012.
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6. Morgan Hoffmann
American professional golfer Morgan Hoffmann was born on August 11, 1989, and was a member of the golf team at the Oklahoma State University for two years. He achieved the no. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2009. Hoffmann turned professional in 2010 and participated in his first professional major tournament at the 2012 U.S. Open where he achieved the 29th place in a tie. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 306.7 meters per shot. He covered a total of 6,133 meters in this season with 20 drives in professional tournaments. Hoffmann played in 13 events on the Web.com Tour in 2012 and achieved 19th place on the money list which qualified him to participate in the PGA Tour.
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7. Cory Whitsett
American professional golfer Cory Whitsett replaced England’s Matthew Fitzgerald as no. 1 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking in October 2013. He helped his team to achieve the Walker Cup and made a record of 2-1-1. Whitsett achieved consecutive titles at the Linger Longer Invitational and Aggie Invitational. He was also a member of the U.S. Palmer Cup team. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 306.7 meters per shot. He covered a total of 4,907 meters this season with 16 drives in professional tournaments. Whitsett was placed in the first position in Golf World’s 2013-14 preseason top 50 watch list. He also achieved the no. 8 spot in the 2012-13 Golfweek’s preseason top-10 individuals.
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8. Paul Casey
Professional English golfer Paul Alexander Casey was born on 21 July 1977, and currently participates in the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. He achieved world no. 3 position which is also his highest in 2009. Casey was the first man in the United States to win three consecutive Pac-10 Championships from 1998 to 2000. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 306.6 meters per shot. He covered a total of 4,293 meters this season with 14 drives in professional tournaments. Paul Casey won his 13th European Tour title in September 2014 at the KLM Open in the Netherlands. He recently declared that he will only focus on the PGA Tour to minimize his travel to get better performance.
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9. Patrick Rodgers
American professional golfer Patrick Rodgers was born on 30 June 1992, and considered as one of the promising golfer of recent times with his listed height of 6 feet 2 inches and listed weight of 165 lb. He played amateur golf during his days at the Stanford University and later turned professional in 2014. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 306.0 meters per shot. He covered a total of 7,343 meters in this season with 24 drives in professional tournaments. Rodgers was named 1st team Ping All-Americans by College Golf Association of America for three consecutive seasons. He achieved Stanford’s highest award, the Al Masters Award, in 2014 as the top athlete. Rodgers achieved Ben Hogan Award as nation’s finest golfer in 2014.
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10. Brendan Steele
American professional golfer Brendan Steele was born on April 5, 1983, and currently participates on the PGA Tour. He played college golf at the University of California. Brendan turned professional in 2005 and started to participate in the Golden State Tour which he won four times. He also participated in the Canadian Tour in 2006 and 2007. As of the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open in Feb 01, 2015, he covered an average of 305.7 meters per shot. He covered a total of 14,675 meters this season with 48 drives in professional tournaments. Steele started playing on the Nationwide Tour in 2008 and won the final event of the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in 2010. He achieved his first PGA Tour event at the Valero Texas Open on April 17, 2011. His amazing performance placed him in the 19th place in the FedEx Cup standings.
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A detailed study of the golfer’s stats helps to understand and rank the best hitters in the PGA Tour. By the end of 2015, the whole ranking may just change, based on the performances of these golfers and the others during the ongoing season. We only have to wait and watch to find out if the players’ ranks change, or if they get replaced by other golfers who are not on this list.