Find Me A 100 Winner: Mark Wilson

Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 20 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

The stats suggest Wilson can land the Bob Hope Classic - making the American a tasty tip at [160.0].

Towards the end of 2008, Mark Wilson had become a regular feature on PGA Tour leaderboards, so its surprising to see him trading at around [160.0] for this week's Bob Hope Classic.

The 34-year-old missed just one cut from July onwards, registering three top-10s including a valiant second place in the Texas Open. He showed great resilience that day, producing some fine shots in attempting to chase down Zach Johnson, confirming previous indications that this is a player who won't flinch should a winning chance present itself. Indeed, he showed plenty of bottle to land his sole PGA Tour title just under two years ago in the Honda Classic, winning a four-man play-off.

Another reason to think Wilson might prosper in California this week is that he scores extremely well across all the key stats. Previous results in the Bob Hope suggest driving accuracy and putting average are of particular importance, and only two players in this field outscore him across those two areas combined.

Furthermore, this pro-am tournament is impossible to win without a spate of birdies, with low scoring very much the order of the day. Again here, Wilson scores extremely well, ranking fifth in birdie average amongst all PGA Tour players over the past six months, and third amongst this week's competitors.