Camilo Villegas ranked inside the top five in greens in regulation in 2012.
Stan Badz/PGA TOUR
Camilo Villegas ranked inside the top five in greens in regulation in 2012.
Which players improved their greens in regulation percentage the most in 2012? And which players suffered the biggest decreases?
The PGA TOUR’s Alex Turnbull compared greens in regulation percentages along with the TOUR ranking of 136 players who played the minimum number of rounds in both 2011 and 2012 (thus, qualifying statistically in the category). Here are the five players at the top of the list and the five at the bottom, based on their change in ranking from one season to the next.
BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS
| Player | 2011 rank (GIR pct.) | 2012 rank (GIR pct.) | Increase in rank |
| Camilo Villegas | 163rd (62.5 percent) | 4th (69.55 percent) | +159 |
| Sean O’Hair | 152nd (63.17 percent) | 21st (68.25 percent) | +131 |
| Nathan Green | 166th (62.34 percent) | 43rd (66.92 percent) | +123 |
| Daniel Summerhays | 150th (63.24 percent) | 28th (67.69 percent) | +122 |
| Roland Thatcher | 130th (64.26 percent) | 25th (67.8 percent) | +105 |
BIGGEST DROPS
| Player | 2011 rank (GIR pct.) | 2012 rank (GIR pct.) | Decrease in rank |
| Spencer Levin | 35th (67.99 percent) | 173rd (60.97 percent) | -138 |
| Gary Woodland | 12th (69.41 percent) | 124th (64.01 percent) | -112 |
| Tommy Gainey | 48th (67 percent) | 158th (62.3 percent) | -110 |
| Trevor Immelman | 31st (68.12 percent) | 139th (63.45 percent) | -108 |
| Billy Mayfair | 23rd (68.77 percent) | 123rd (64.02 percent) | -100 |
RORY AND TIGER
Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods played enough rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2011 to qualify for the comparison list. But here are their numbers had each player met the minimum number of rounds last year.
| Player | 2011 rank (GIR pct.) | 2012 rank (GIR pct.) | Difference in rank |
| Rory McIlroy | 28th (68.30 percent) | 60th (66.36 percent) | -32 |
| Tiger Woods | 37th (67.74 percent) | 29th (67.58 percent) | +8 |
