How would a golfer fare if they were to shoot level par in every round on Tour? The answer may surprise you, writes BRENDAN BARRATT.
Some time ago, Compleat Golfer ran a feature about a fictional character named Johnny Parr, who finished every tournament on the PGA Tour in level par.
It was concluded that while Parr made a decent amount of cash for the season, he would not have done enough to keep his card for the following year – unless the US Open had one of its mean and nasty years where the winning score was over or near to par.
Since the turn of the century, level par would have been good enough to win five US Opens, one Masters and an Open Championship, with a further two US Opens going to playoffs after the winning score was even par.
In women’s Majors, players would need to go into red numbers to lift the title outright, with only two US Women’s Opens finishing at level par.
So how would Johnny – or Joanie – Parr have finished the last full season across the PGA, DP World, Sunshine, LPGA or Ladies European Tours?
PGA Tour
Once again, Johnny Parr’s numbers are skewed by the high scoring at the US Open and, to a lesser extent, The PGA Championship. A level-par score at Winged Foot would have seen Parr finish runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau and cash in a cheque for over $1-million. For the rest of the season, however, he would have been missing more cuts than he was making, finishing mostly towards the back of the fields. Had Johnny not played at the US Open, he would have battled to 155th on the PGA Tour moneylist, with $632 120 in earnings.
Played: 38
Cuts made: 16
Missed cuts: 22
Top-10 finishes: 1
Top 25: 2
Best finish: T2 – US Open
Season earnings: $1,982,120
Moneylist finish: 69th
DP World Tour
Johnny Parr would have made more cuts on the DP World Tour but with no top-10s, he would not have done enough to retain his Tour card for the following season. Given that he played on the DP World Tour, we counted The Open as his only Major championship. Good luck on the Challenge Tour next season, Johnny.
Played: 33
Cuts made: 18
Missed cuts: 15
Top-10 finishes: 0
Top 25: 3
Best finish: T15 – Estrella Damm NA Andalucia Masters
Season earnings: €197,423
Order of Merit finish: 135th
LPGA Tour
With 19 out of 26 cuts made, Joanie Parr was a consistent player on the LPGA Tour and, boosted by a tie for sixth at the US Open (four shots behind Yuka Saso), she finished the season in a respectable 57th position on the moneylist. Most finishes were between 40th and 60th, which would have made a reasonable amount of money for Ms Parr.
Played: 26
Cuts made: 19
Missed Cuts: 7
Top-10 finishes: 1
Top 25: 1
Best finish: T6 – US Women’s Open
Season earnings: $382 494
Moneylist finish: 57th
Ladies European Tour
Boosted by a win at the first event of the season, the South African Women’s Open at Westlake Golf Club, Joanie Parr finished in 14th spot on the Order of Merit. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that she made every single cut on the Tour, racking up three top-10s and 10 top-25 finishes along the way. Whether the set-ups are more difficult or the fields are weaker, it just goes to show that level par is a great result at any event on the Ladies European Tour.
Played: 23
Cuts made: 23
Missed cuts: 0
Top-10 finishes: 3
Top 25: 10
Best finish: Win – South African Women’s Open
Season earnings: €139,057
Moneylist finish: 14th
Sunshine Tour
Johnny had a pretty tough time on the Sunshine Tour too, although he did just enough to retain his card. While he cashed in on the co-sanctioned Joburg Open and SA Open, Parr missed the opportunity to make some good money when he missed nine cuts in a row towards the end of the season – when the Tour held co-sanctioned events with the Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour. With just two top-10s and eight top-25 finishes, it seems that while par is enough to keep your card, it’s barely enough to break even on the Sunshine Tour.
Played: 29
Cuts made: 13
Missed cuts: 16
Top-10 finishes: 2
Top 25: 8
Best finish: T6 – SunBet Challenge
Season earnings: R340,816
Moneylist finish: 58th
– This article first appeared in the June 2022 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine. Subscribe here!
