Erik van Rooyen Posted PGA Tour's Biggest Putting Gain in 2026

Erik van Rooyen posted the PGA Tour's biggest year-over-year improvement in Strokes Gained: Putting for the 2026 season, turning what had been a weakness into one of the strongest putting seasons on Tour. Golfweek's statistical review, the second in a series examining player improvement, found Van Rooyen gained 0.846 shots per round on the greens compared to last season.

Why does Strokes Gained: Putting matter?

Strokes Gained: Putting isolates putting performance from the rest of a player's game, unlike counting stats such as three-putt avoidance that can be skewed by approach play. A golfer who hits fewer greens close to the hole faces longer, harder putts regardless of putting skill, so the stat is considered the more reliable measure of who is actually rolling the ball best.

Who else improved the most?

Van Rooyen's gain came in a season where his overall results still lagged, missing more than half of his 20 starts. Gerard's improvement came alongside a breakout year: he rose from 154th to 27th on Tour in the putting category, made 22 of 26 cuts, was runner-up at the Sony Open in Hawaii, the American Express and the Memorial Tournament, and closed the season with a third-place finish at the Tour Championship worth more than $10 million.

What does the research say about putting and winning?

Columbia professor Mark Broadie's research on strokes gained, published in his 2014 book on the subject, found that Tour winners and top money earners tend to be elite ballstrikers who avoid big numbers rather than pure putters, undercutting the old idea that putting alone decides who wins. Even so, Golfweek's data shows putting gains can still separate players within a season, whether or not they translate into a full turnaround in the standings.