I've Crunched The Numbers On The Masters Putting Stats And Discovered One Surprising Player Has Dominated On The Augusta Greens

You need to do a lot of things right to win The Masters, but ultimately it's all about putting the small white ball into the hole.

And the greens at Augusta National are some of the most iconic in the sport, but dastardly difficult at times under certain conditions.

So putting is key, and when trawling through the putting stats over recent Masters tournaments I spotted some some interesting and intriguing stats.

There's a big gap between the lowest and highest number of putts taken at each Masters tournament, with the best in the field taking just over 100 across four rounds and the worst nearer the 130 mark.

The putts per round averages over the last four years is relatively similar though, ranging from 29.52 to 29.81 and a few big names have had some big fluctations in their stats - but one former Masters champion has excelled.

As 2018 Green Jacket winner Patrick Reed really stands out when it comes to total putts at Augusta National - as he's finished top of the field in the last two Masters tournaments.

Reed also finished T2 in total putts in 2021 and third in the rearranged 2020 Masters to show that he's been a consistent wizard on the Augusta greens.

Scottie Scheffler took 109 putts when winning The Masters in 2024, while the average for a champion around Augusta is 114 - but Reed took just 101 last year to lead the way.

Reed only needed 109 putts to lead the field in 2023, and despite something of a down year with 116 in 2022, in 2021 he used his flat stick just 107 times while just 109 strokes were taken with the putter in the November Masters of 2020.

Those putting stats have helped Reed to three top 10s in the last five Masters as he seems to have those difficult putting surfaces under total control.

Scheffler numbers show value of putting at Augusta

Scottie Scheffler slipped on that famous Green Jacket in 2022 and 2024, but did not manage to defend his title in 2023 and it's clear where the problem was when looking at his putting numbers.

It's not everything of course, but Scheffler was playing wonderfully well in 2023 when having to settle for a T10 in his Masters defence - with most of the blame lying with his performance on the Augusta greens.

That shows up big time in the total putts stats, as Scheffler took 109 and 110 putts to win his Green Jackets in 2024 and 2022 respectively - but suffered a collapse in between with a whopping 127 putts in 2023.

Even given all the different factors, those 17-18 extra putts were calamitous, as Scheffler came dead last in total putts for the 2023 Masters with that 127 figure - but it shows that if he uses his putter around the 110 mark he'll go close again.

It's a similar story for 2023 champion Jon Rahm as well, who took 115 putts when claiming his victory but then propped up the field in his title defence last year with a full 15 more putts at 130 for the tournament.

You have to do a lot of things well at Augusta, but if you want to pull on that most prized piece of sporting tayloring then you better putt well.