I nearly fell off my couch when that number was mentioned. Daniel paused, then said, “That’s horrible.”

It would have been far worse than horrible. I’ve used those stats for more than a decade, primarily to wager on PGA head-to-head matchups. A top player has never threatened 2.1 on any tour. It’s a disqualifier.

I can’t believe that stat was correct, not for the entire season to that point. Shin is at 1.83 now, not bad. Mathematically I don’t think it’s possible she could have jumped from 2.1 to 1.83 in only a few rounds. In that case, she would have dominated Nabisco by many shots. As of today, Shin’s Putts Per GIR is actually better than her overall putting.

Vicky Hurst blasts it. And she’ll likely get longer as she heads toward her 20s. Last year on the Futures Tour a top player was interviewed by the media director and asked if she envied any aspect of another player’s game. The player identified Vicky Hurst’s driving. The quote was, “She has the face of a girl but hits it like a man.”

The percentages don’t make sense, if you look at them in total and don’t realize some tournaments didn’t collect data. For example, Paula Creamer is atop GIR by a wide margin at .794. But in 18 rounds she is credited with 100 greens hit. LOL. That would be less than 6 per round, my pace, not hers.

The 100 is the sample size they have for that player in that category. I’m not sure they shouldn’t leave out the total number of rounds, or perhaps only list the number of rounds in which the stats were collected. Quick math indicates a .794 would equate to 126 holes, which is 7 rounds, or less than half the rounds Paula has completed this year.

Shin has 130 GIR in her 2009 sample right now. She accumulated 50 at Nabisco. If it was a similar number at Phoenix, and Daniel was using pre-tournament stats for the 2.1, then we’re talking about a puny 30ish greens at the time.

Kim Welch may have made a very poor handicapping decision early last week. She was listed third on the LPGA Corona Championship alternate list for next week, behind only fellow Futures Tour players and low priority LPGA members Haeji Jang and Song Yi Choi. Welch has yet to play in an LPGA tournament this year. But at #3 alternate with about 10 days to go I thought she was no worse than 50/50 to make the Corona field, particularly given the venue. There is more late schedule changing when it involves traveling to a foreign country, etc.

Welch’s name dropped off the alternate list early in the week. I assume she decided not to venture to Corona in favor of a safe spot in next week’s Duramed event in Brownsville, Texas, where she is listed in the field. Prior to the season, Welch said she would not try to Monday qualify but instead would focus on the Futures Tour, no doubt partially because her entry fees are waived via the Big Break victory. She’s also probably frustrated as being stuck on the alternate list a couple of times already this season, as low man on the #17 priority category. That’s where the 6-10 Duramed players seem to slot, nowhere in the premium and mid level LPGA events, and borderline alternates in the less favored tourneys.

Welch has generally played poorly since her Duramed victory last summer. She missed the cut again this week, 2 out of 3. I don’t like her chances of 2010 LPGA status via Futures Tour 2009. But as Hound Dog detailed in an excellent post last week, the Corona event is vital toward reshuffling priority status for the remainder of 2009. I’m not sure Welch realized that, if indeed she pulled her name from Corona consideration. Maybe the LPGA needs a counselor, along with someone to figure out whether or not a Q School playoff is necessary. All it would take is two decent rounds to make the cut next week and suddenly the opportunities for 2009 can change dramatically. Hound Dog estimated 8-10 tournament chances as opposed to 1 or 2.

Sure enough, Kang and Choi moved upward into the field later in the week, as the natural pull outs occurred. Today the player who moved into Welch’s slot as 3rd alternate, Kathryn Imrie, was also bumped into the Corona field.