It’s tough to forget the out-of-nowhere announcement of a PGA-LIV reunion. Or the legend of Michael Block at the PGA Championship. Or Brian Harman’s second-round 65 en route to an Open Championship victory.
How about Jon Rahm’s final-round 69 that left him atop the Masters leaderboard, beating out Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka at Augusta National? Or Nick Taylor’s 72-foot putt on the final hole of the playoff to win the RBC Canadian Open? Or the return of Tiger Woods?
In the world of golf, it was a memorable year for many reasons. Below, we’ve found the single rounds that shouldn’t be forgotten – the best of the year, according to our FRACAS model.
All rounds are measured by strokes gained relative to field average and adjusted for strength of field for that round. A golfer who shoots 5-under par when the field average is 2-over par gains seven strokes on the field. If the field strength for that round is one stroke better than PGA average, then the total strokes gained for that round moves up to eight strokes.
FRACAS has included scores from the following tours: PGA Tour events, LIV Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Challenge Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Korean PGA, PGA Tour Canada, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamerica, Champions Tour, Pro Golf Tour of India, All Thailand Golf Tour, Asian Development Tour, EuroPro Tour, Nordic Golf League, Pro Golf Tour (Europe), PGA Tour Australia New Zealand, Alps Tour, China Golf Tour, and Big Easy Tour into its strokes gained per round calculation.
So let’s identify the top-five rounds worldwide as well as the best (not necessarily the lowest rounds) from each tour and golf tournament we cover, ranked by strokes gained.
Top Rounds of the Year
1. Denny McCarthy
- Tournament: Travelers Championship
- Tour: PGA
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 9.50
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 25
Though he’s still seeking his first PGA Tour win, 2023 was a breakout year for the 30-year-old McCarthy. The Maryland native finished the year with six top-10 finishes, highlighted by a solo second-place finish at the Memorial, one of the highest strength-of-field tournaments of the year. His first round at the Travelers featured a bogey-free round and 10 birdies.
2. Rickie Fowler/Xander Schauffele
- Tournament: U.S. Open
- Tour: Major
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 9.28
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 39 (Fowler) & 6 (Schauffele)
A resurgent year for Fowler was highlighted by a record-breaking first round at the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club. Fowler’s record for lowest U.S. Open round would stand on its own for less than a few hours as Schauffele would also card an 8-under round. Both would finish the tournament disappointed, as neither finished the tournament in the top three and Wyndham Clark edged out Rory McIlroy to win it.
3. Tommy Fleetwood
- Tournament: U.S. Open
- Tour: Major
- Round: 4
- Strokes Gained: 9.23
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 12
After making the cut on the number, Fleetwood back-doored his way into a top-five major championship tournament with a fourth-round 63 at this year’s U.S. Open. His fourth round was highlighted by an eagle at the drivable par-4 sixth hole at LACC.
4. Chad Ramey
- Tournament: The Players
- Tour: Major
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 9.17
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 144
Ramey finished the year without a top-10 finish on tour, but he made 70% of his cuts after making just 53% of his cuts in 2022. His first-round 64 at the Players Stadium Golf Course would be the highlight of his week, as he finished in a tie for 27th (Scottie Scheffler won the invitational). But his bogey-free start among the strongest field in golf on a day when the field finished over par was a round to remember.
5. Matt Wallace
- Tournament: DP World Tour Championship
- Tour: DP World Tour
- Round: 3
- Strokes Gained: 8.86
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 102
Wallace, another golfer who had a resurgent 2023, had perhaps the most impressive nine-hole stretch in the world with nine straight birdies on the back nine of his third round at the DP World Tour Championship (at Jumeirah Golf Club). He finished the year 20th on the DPWT points list and should be back playing golf on a full schedule in 2024 after falling off the map in late 2022.
Top Rounds From Each Tour
PGA
- Golfer: Denny McCarthy
- Tournament: Travelers Championship
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 9.50
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 25
LIV
- Golfer: Bryson DeChambeau
- Tournament: LIV Greenbrier
- Round: 3
- Strokes Gained: 8.73
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 17
Korn Ferry
- Golfer: Mason Andersen
- Tournament: Korn Ferry Tour Championship
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 8.28
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 306
DP World
- Golfer: Matt Wallace
- Tournament: DP World Tour Championship
- Round: 3
- Strokes Gained: 8.86
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 102
Asian Tour
- Golfer: Jazz Janewattananond
- Tournament: International Series Vietnam
- Round: 2
- Strokes Gained: 6.99
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 778
Challenge Tour
- Golfer: Lauri Ruuska
- Tournament: Vierumaki Finnish Challenge
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 7.68
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 1332
Japan Golf Tour
- Golfer: Shaun Norris
- Tournament: Mynavi ABC Championship
- Round: 2
- Strokes Gained: 8.19
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 482
Korean PGA
- Golfer: Inhoi Hur
- Tournament: iMBank Opening
- Round: 4
- Strokes Gained: 8.05
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 845
PGA Tour Canada
- Golfer: Taylor Funk
- Tournament: CRMC Championship Presented by Gertens
- Round: 4
- Strokes Gained: 5.55
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 1523
Sunshine Tour
- Golfer: Matthew Spacey
- Tournament: FNB Swatini Challenge
- Round: 1
- Strokes Gained: 8.30
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 1488
PGA Tour Latinoamerica
- Golfer: Stuart MacDonald
- Tournament: JHSF Aberto do Brasil
- Round: 4
- Strokes Gained: 6.78
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 416
Champions Tour
- Golfer: Steve Stricker
- Tournament: Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
- Round: 2
- Strokes Gained: 6.83
- Year End Global FRACAS Rank: 31
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