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Masters Betting: Drive for Show, Putt for Dough

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The phrase “drive for show, putt for dough” is a long-standing mantra in golf that emphasises the importance of putting over driving – specifically driving distance – in winning golf tournaments. But is it true?

While the saying has a clear implication, modern data from professional golf paints a more complex picture.   Using the Shots Gained (SG) metric we can compare different parts of a player’s game to see if there really is a formula for winning.

Driving test

Using shot data gained from datagolf.com we can compare the top players in the world (according to the Official World Golf Ranking) over the last 12 months.

Comparing “shots gained off the tee” with “shots gained putting” seems to turn the myth on its head – the top players gain a higher proportion of their shots off the tee than from putting.  For players ranked in the Top 10, nearly 0.8 shots are gained from driving as opposed to around 0.3 for putting.  Whilst the differential narrows as the players’ ranking decreases, for players ranked 90 – 100, driving still gains more than 0.2 shots more putting.

This ability to reliably gain strokes through driving gives top pros an edge, setting them up for better scoring opportunities throughout a tournament. Over a whole season, this advantage compounds and allows them to stay at the top of the leaderboards.

The long and the short

However, since “shots gained off the tee” includes par 4 and 5s, the metric is not necessarily just a measure of the importance of driving distance, but also a measure of accuracy.  So, whilst driving matters, is it the distance or the trajectory that is most advantageous for winning tournaments?

Again, using the top ranked players, it appears that distance stands out as a key factor for success, with Top 10 players on average gaining nearly 10 yards per drive compared with those outside the Top 100 throughout the year. This extra yardage translates into shorter approaches and better chances to attack pins throughout the season.

These findings are corroborated by Mark Broadie in his 2014 book Every Shot Counts, where he shows that for professionals, an extra 20 yards of driving distance is worth about three-quarters of a stroke per round.   Relatively speaking, for the rest of us amateur golfers, driving distance becomes even more important for scoring than driving accuracy.

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Putt to the test

While driving distance provides the groundwork for long term success – and is a characteristic that all the Top 10 players seemingly must possess – it doesn’t necessarily “bust the myth” that putting is more important for winning tournaments.  Indeed, looking more deeply into the metrics for the outcome of individual tournaments uncovers the fact that putting becomes more instrumental for who comes out on top.

If we look instead at the finish positions in PGA events over the last 12 months, rather than the World Ranking, putting comes to the fore.  For players finishing first, putting gained an average of 1.2 shots versus a gain of 0.7 for driving.  Even for players finishing 30th – 35th, putting is worth more than 0.4 of a shot on average compared to driving. The fact that top finishers in a given event typically post higher gains from putting rather than from driving underscores the vital role of putting during tournament play where players have to capitalize on scoring opportunities and avoid mistakes on the green to win.

 

The outcome

Fundamentally the relationship between driving and putting reveals a balanced formula for success. Driving creates opportunities and contributes to consistency while putting often decides who makes the best of those opportunities and ultimately wins on a given weekend. In a game of ever-increasing competition and precision, power and finesse must work together to elevate players to the pinnacle of the sport.

With all the attention on these extremes of golf, other aspects are often overlooked. Completing the same analyses and including shots gained for “approach” and “around the green” makes it clear that there is one area that consistently contributes to wins and ranking, making it arguably the most important aspect of a players golf game.

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THE 56th ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER® SETS NEW RECORDS

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The 2025 WSOP sets unprecedented benchmarks across entries, prize money, and payouts, solidifying its status as the pinnacle of live tournament poker

After eight weeks of thrilling competition, the 56th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP®) at the Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas officially concluded on July 16. The 2025 series has once again redefined live tournament poker, shattering multiple all-time records and further cementing its legendary status.

“The poker renaissance was on full display at the 2025 WSOP,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. “If you missed the amazing action, the good news is that you can inevitably expect bigger and better next year. A sincere thank you to every player and staffer who came to Las Vegas and made this a summer to remember.”

The action-packed summer on the Las Vegas Strip featured appearances from a host of celebrities and poker legends, all vying for poker’s most coveted prize: the WSOP gold bracelet. In addition to the strong turnout, the 2025 WSOP will be remembered for the launch of the revolutionary WSOP+ app, which virtually eliminated registration lines throughout the summer and greatly enhanced the WSOP experience for the entire playing community.

 

2025 WSOP By the Numbers – A Historic Summer

This year’s WSOP delivered staggering figures, setting several new all-time records across the board:

  • 246,960 entries – The most all-time entries for a single WSOP series

  • $481,761,879 – The largest total prize money awarded in WSOP history

  • 37,311 places paid – The highest number of unique payouts in series history

  • 43 – The number of $1M+ prizes won across the 2025 series

  • Event #53: Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em attracted 11,996 entries, setting a new record for the largest $1,500 buy-in field in live tournament poker history

  • Event #89: Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold’em saw 3,797 entries, becoming the largest $3,000 buy-in field ever

  • Event #86: Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha drew 5,284 entries, establishing itself as the largest PLO field in live tournament poker history

  • 57 events exceeded $2+ million prize pools – An all-time record for the series

  • 9 events exceeded $10+ million prize pools – An all-time record for the series

Although this year’s summer tournament is over, the excitement continues with the WSOP Circuit (WSOP-C) 2025 Season Part 2 already underway, and the return of WSOP Paradise this winter in the Bahamas from Dec. 4 to 18. Additionally, WSOP Europe (WSOP-E) runs from Sept. 12 to Oct. 8, with the WSOP-E Main Event beginning on Oct. 3.

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Scientific Games’ iLottery Games Portfolio Expands as Pixiu Gaming Joins SG Content Hub

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Exciting New Hasbro-Licensed MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery Games Coming Via SG Content Hub

Scientific Games welcomed Pixiu Gaming as the newest studio partner to the SG Content Hub. Pixiu Gaming joins the government-regulated lottery industry’s premier iLottery content delivery platform, featuring an expanding, highly curated selection of iLottery games from Scientific Games and partner studios around the globe. The games are available to lotteries in multiple languages and in a variety of play styles for all player segments.

 

Widely recognized as the leading supplier of Keno games in North American regulated gaming markets, Pixiu Gaming is a boutique developer focused on authentic, engaging and player-centric games. Founded in 2014 and based in London, UK with a remote global team, Pixiu is named after a fierce Chinese mythical creature that attracts and preserves great wealth.

Scientific Games, the world’s largest lottery games company, is collaborating with Pixiu Gaming to bring exciting new MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery games to lotteries through its exclusive licensing agreement with Hasbro. Games created by Pixiu Gaming will be available in the SG Content Hub, in addition to games from Scientific Games’ own SG Studios and other premier partner studios worldwide.

Tony Plaskow, Pixiu Gaming Co-Founder, said, “Pixiu Gaming is thrilled to join the SG Content Hub to bring our games to more lotteries. We look forward to working with Scientific Games and Hasbro to create exciting, brand-sensitive MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP-themed iLottery game experiences. These iconic brands are familiar worldwide, and each provides the perfect mix of strategy and luck. We will weave a true-to-brand digital game experience with fun, simple-to-understand content that entertains players.”

Matt Lynch, President, Digital for Scientific Games, said, “We are very excited to partner with Pixiu Gaming, an up-and-coming studio. Their unique approach to game development and artistic vision brings a differentiated offering to market that will add depth to iLottery portfolios by expanding game play options for existing players while bringing new game experiences to attract new players. Scientific Games is focused on creating an unparalleled range of playstyles and game mechanics for players with the SG Content Hub, and we are proud to soon include play experiences from Pixiu Gaming.”

SG Content Hub offers partner studios select exclusively licensed brands from the company’s portfolio of more than 100 licensed brands, which also includes other Hasbro-licensed games such as CONNECT 4, THE GAME OF LIFE and YAHTZEE. MONOPOLY is perennially the lottery industry’s top performer, with 33 lotteries worldwide offering MONOPOLY-themed games in fiscal year 2025, resulting in more than $2 billion in retail and digital sales during the year.

Scientific Games provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries worldwide. The company is a digital lottery innovator offering lotteries entertaining game content featuring the most extensive portfolio of licensed brands in the industry, and world-leading digital programs, including CRM, loyalty, promotions, second chance, mobile and web applications.

BATTLESHIP, CONNECT 4, THE GAME OF LIFE, YAHTZEE and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. ©2025 Hasbro.

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The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 1935, 2025 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.  Licensed by Hasbro.

© 2025 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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WPT® Global Returns as Title Sponsor for Triton SUPER HIGH ROLLER SERIES Jeju II

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The high-stakes action is back in South Korea on the heels of the recently
unveiled Triton One Series

The Super High Roller Series returns to Jeju, September 8–23, 2025, with another nosebleed schedule and non-stop live stream coverage. WPT® Global proudly continues its strong relationship with Triton as the event’s title sponsor.

Super High Roller Series Jeju II: What’s on the Cards

Super High Roller Series Jeju II brings a monolith of a schedule from September 8 to 23, with buy-ins ranging from $25,000 to $150,000. The action kicks off on September 9 with Event 1, the WPT Global Slam, featuring a $25,000 buy-in.

The $100,000 Main Event, Event 9, begins on September 16 and is expected to draw the biggest names and deepest stacks of the series. Players and fans can expect poker’s most notorious faces, from Phil Ivey to Jesse Lonis, chasing titles at one of the most prestigious series in the industry.

Xuan Liu Makes History for WPTG in Montenegro

Earlier this year, former WPT Global Ambassador Xuan Liu made poker history by becoming the first female Triton champion. She defeated Daniel Dvoress heads-up in the $25,000 WPT Global Slam in May, earning $860,000. The event drew 155 entries and generated a $3,875,000 prize pool, marking a career-best score for Liu and placing her 15th on the Women’s All-Time Money List.

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