Humana Challenge Golf Tips: Josh Teater

It is well established that to win the Humana Challenge you need to make lots of birdies. The obvious conclusion is that you therefore want to be siding with a good putter. But strange as it sounds, being a strong putter isn’t always essential.

Last season JhonattanVegas and Bill Haas contested the playoff yet were ranked T16 and T46 in total putts for the tournament. They succeeded by creating plenty of birdie opportunities, using other strengths such as long hitting and accurate approach play.

The same story continues for the last five champions, none of whom were especially brilliant putters. The list below shows where they ranked on the PGA Tour for strokes gained putting in the year they won.

2011: JhonattanVegas – 157th
2010: Bill Haas – 114th
2009: Pat Perez – 151st
2008: D.J. Trahan – 174th
2007: Charley Hoffman – 66th

This doesn’t mean you should automatically go out and back bad putters, just don’t be misled by the emphasis on flat stick prowess.

Josh Teater isn’t a star with the putter but he still makes a huge amount of birdies and he is my first pick.

In 2011 he ranked 8th on tour for the number of eagles in a season and 10th for birdies. He is a player well used to making red numbers, unfortunately the quantity of dropped shots usually cancel them out. If he is to succeed then it will be on easier courses, like those used in the Humana Challenge.

He started the season with a solid T38 finish at the Sony Open, on a course that was never going to suit his big hitting style, but it served as a good warm-up for this week’s event.

Teater’s strength is that he creates plenty of opportunities. He ranked 53rd for GIRs on tour last year and 54th for par breakers. A return to California should also bring back happy memories. He enjoyed one of his best results in the state, with a T7 finish at the Frys.com Open last year.

At 200/1 (Boylesports) he can join the list of surprise winners of the tournament. Back him each way for ¼ odds for a top five finish.