Mark Broadie, a professor at Columbia University's business school, is a pioneer of the strokes-gained approach to PGA Tour statistics. The method uses data to make it easier to pinpoint a golfer's strengths and weaknesses by measuring the quality of shots in units relative to the field. His putts-gained stat, which takes into account the distance each putt starts from the hole and then compares the number of putts taken to the average of other PGA Tour golfers from that distance, is widely considered to be the most accurate measure of putting in the game.

Broadie believes that his strokes-gained approach is a more accurate way of measuring performance than most of the tour's stat categories.

"Most of the past PGA Tour stats are pretty simple in that they involve counting how many putts you take or how many fairways you hit," Broadie said in January. "But they don't take into [account] if you miss a fairway or a green by 1 yard or 20 yards. Strokes gained gives you a much better measure of a quality of a shot."