A look at who was top of some of the key scoring metrics on the 2025 Race to Dubai.
There are some key components of a golfer that cannot be measured: mental strength, resilience and decision-making among them but for most things there is a number.
Here, we take a look at the top players statistically in 2025 taking in golf's four key measurables: driving, approach, around the green and putting.
Driving
Strokes gained
Marco Penge is well known as one of the biggest hitters on Tour and he utilised his strength off the tee to claim three wins in 2025. He ranked fifth in distance and while he was just 92nd in accuracy, his 1.08 strokes gained off the tee handed him top spot ahead of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.
Accuracy
It seems fitting that the DP World Tour's most pre-eminent stats guru should top one of our categories and in 2025, nobody was more accurate off the tee than Edoardo Molinari. The Italian, whose statistical nous was key in his role as Vice Captain for Europe's Ryder Cup victories in Rome and New York, hit 73.81% of fairways, over 15% more than the field average. Kiwi Kazuma Kobori was his nearest challenger followed by Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Aaron Rai.
Distance
Probably the most box office of all the stats is topped by probably the most box office name in the game. For the second season in a row, it is Rory McIlroy who has sent it further out there than the rest at an average of 323.18 yards, gaining him just over 28 yards on the field. Nicolai Højgaard was just 0.04 yards back with Wilco Nienaber, who topped this metric in 2021 and 2023, third.
Approach
Strokes gained approach
Michael Kim made a big splash towards the end of the season, winning the FedEx Open de France en route to playing his way to the season finale in Dubai and a lot of that was due to his brilliant iron play. He gained 1.04 strokes on the field in approach, a full 0.11 strokes ahead of nearest challenger Tyrrell Hatton, with Shane Lowry third.
Strokes gained tee to green
A second chart-topper for McIlroy and it is little surprise he takes more than one crown after a season that saw him complete the career Grand Slam and win a seventh Harry Vardon Trophy. He gained an average of 1.77 shots per round tee to green, sitting just ahead of Ryder Cup team-mates Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood.
Greens in Regulation (GIR)
Alex Noren enjoyed a remarkable end to 2025, taking two wins on UK soil on the Back 9 at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and in the Rolex Series at the BMW PGA Championship. In 24 rounds across the season, he hit 76.94% of greens in regulation, just over 10% better than the field average. Rai was next best at 75.43%, just ahead of Hatton.
Around the green
Strokes gained
Fitzpatrick was arguably the form player of the end of the campaign, culminating in his win at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. His play from inside 50 yards played a key role in that and he was our best player for strokes gained from that distance at 0.77. That was a fairly healthy advantage over nearest challenger MK Kim at 0.60, who was just ahead of Patrick Reed.
Scrambling
The professionals may not miss the green as much as most but when they do, they still need to get out of a sticky spot and it can be the difference between glory and heartbreak. Tommy Fleetwood had plenty of glory in 2025 and with 105 scrambles from 144 missed greens, he tops our chart with a success rate of 72.92%. Reed is next at 69.86%, followed by Molinari.
Sand saves
Raised in the coastal town of Oban, we should maybe expect Robert MacIntyre to be know what he is doing in sand and the Scot failed to get up and down or hole out just 12 times from 40 attempts from a greenside bunker. His 28 successes and 70.00% success rate puts him ahead of Ryan Fox at 66.67% and Højgaard.
Putting
Strokes gained
Another top spot for our stats expert as Molinari shows his prowess with the short stick, gaining 1.02 shots on the field putting. The Italian is the only player on Tour to gain more than a shot, with Noren and Shaun Norris next best on 0.98.
Putts per GIR
Getting on the dancefloor is one thing but it's what you do when you get there that counts and nobody was better on that metric than Min Woo Lee. The Australian on average needed just 1.68 putts to get the ball in the hole after hitting a green in regulation, 0.11 fewer than the field average. Next was Noren at 1.69, with McIlroy in third.
Putts per round
Another putting stat, another triumph for Lee, who averaged just 27.58 putts per round across the season, 1.81 less than the field. Next best was Norris on 28.06, with Sami Välimäki rounding out the top three at 28.25. Lee's average of 8.37 one-putts per round was also a season's best.
Overall
Strokes gained
The top dog for strokes gained across the season was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the player who topped the Race to Dubai in McIlroy. The all-conquering Northern Irishman gained an everage of 2.28 strokes per round on the field, 0.31 more than nearest challenger Fitzpatrick. Another Ryder Cup hero in Fleetwoood was third.
Stroke average
McIlroy was the stroke average king last season but in 2025 he was edged into second by the resurgent Noren. Known as one of the Tour's hardest workers, the Swede was rewared with a stroke average of 68.71, 0.06 strokes fewer per 18 holes than McIlroy and 0.27 fewer than Fitzpatrick.
Birdies
2025 was the year where you could not keep McIlroy out of top spot and he takes the honours again for most birdies per round with 4.80 having made 211 across the season. Noren is next on 4.75 ahead of countryman Ludvig Åberg. Kristoffer Reitan made the most birdies overall with 470.
Eagles
Fitzpatrick was the top man for the big birds, making 12 across his 43 rounds for an average of 0.28. He was then followed by two Ryder Cup team-mates in Rasmus Højgaard with 0.27 and Åberg with 0.25. Penge made more eagles than any other player on Tour with 23 in 93 rounds.
To see all DP World Tour statistics, click here.
