Bentgrass performance is based on tournaments where the course features bentgrass greens. This grass type is more common on the West Coast and Northern states. The biggest difference between bentgrass and bermuda is the lack of grain. The minimum amount of rounds required to make the following lists is 30.

Always remember to compare these numbers to their expected Stokes Gained:Total numbers. For example, an elite player with a 1.25 SG:Total on bentgrass might make this list of top performers, but it could also be lower than their usual output meaning that player is actually worse on bentgrass greens.

* Minimum 30 rounds to qualify. Stats are time-weighted and adjusted to the strength of competition.

Top 25 Performers on Bentgrass Greens (since 2014)

Justin Rose (3.066 strokes gained:total)
Rickie Fowler (2.947 strokes gained:total)
Rory McIlroy (2.829 strokes gained:total)
Brooks Koepka (2.826 strokes gained:total)
Dustin Johnson (2.806 strokes gained:total)
Jordan Spieth (2.733 strokes gained:total)
Jason Day (2.667 strokes gained:total)
Jon Rahm (2.574 strokes gained:total)
Tiger Woods (2.499 strokes gained:total)
Henrik Stenson (2.439 strokes gained:total)
Patrick Cantlay (2.394 strokes gained:total)
Hideki Matsuyama (2.39 strokes gained:total)
Francesco Molinari (2.342 strokes gained:total)
Matt Kuchar (2.341 strokes gained:total)
Justin Thomas (2.28 strokes gained:total)
Tony Finau (2.266 strokes gained:total)
Tommy Fleetwood (2.235 strokes gained:total)
Paul Casey (2.231 strokes gained:total)
Patrick Reed (2.048 strokes gained:total)
Thorbjorn Olesen (2.021 strokes gained:total)
Marc Leishman (2.011 strokes gained:total)
Adam Scott (1.982 strokes gained:total)
Phil Mickelson (1.952 strokes gained:total)
Webb Simpson (1.949 strokes gained:total)
Xander Schauffele (1.946 strokes gained:total)

Top 25 Bentgrass Specialists
(Bentgrass Performance vs. Expected Strokes Gained)

Satoshi Kodaira (0.61 sg:bentgrass vs. -0.28 sg:total)
Peter Uihlein (1.804 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.03 sg:total)
Curtis Luck (1.067 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.341 sg:total)
Thorbjorn Olesen (2.021 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.334 sg:total)
Joaquin Niemann (1.902 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.305 sg:total)
Hao Tong Li (1.209 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.67 sg:total)
Chad Campbell (1.252 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.737 sg:total)
Robert Garrigus (1.037 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.524 sg:total)
Wes Roach (0.593 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.088 sg:total)
Brooks Koepka (2.826 sg:bentgrass vs. 2.336 sg:total)
Tim Herron (0.077 sg:bentgrass vs. -0.411 sg:total)
David Lingmerth (1.436 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.96 sg:total)
Whee Kim (0.779 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.341 sg:total)
Andrew Putnam (1.471 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.04 sg:total)
Robert Streb (1.114 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.688 sg:total)
Anirban Lahiri (1.278 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.874 sg:total)
Martin Kaymer (1.523 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.129 sg:total)
Rickie Fowler (2.947 sg:bentgrass vs. 2.553 sg:total)
Billy Hurley III (0.869 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.49 sg:total)
Mackenzie Hughes (1.212 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.839 sg:total)
Ted Potter, Jr. (0.789 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.417 sg:total)
Ricky Barnes (0.854 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.486 sg:total)
David Hearn (1.079 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.731 sg:total)
Chris Stroud (0.986 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.64 sg:total)
Kyle Stanley (1.628 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.292 sg:total)

Top 25 Bentgrass Anti-Specialists
(Bentgrass Performance vs. Expected Strokes Gained)

Max Homa (-1.285 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.02 sg:total)
Nicholas Lindheim (-0.662 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.135 sg:total)
Carlos Ortiz (-0.086 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.602 sg:total)
Trey Mullinax (0.284 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.885 sg:total)
Michael Thompson (0.281 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.88 sg:total)
Freddie Jacobson (-0.073 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.461 sg:total)
Jonas Blixt (0.144 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.634 sg:total)
Corey Conners (0.407 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.86 sg:total)
Lucas Glover (1.065 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.517 sg:total)
Sangmoon Bae (-0.272 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.178 sg:total)
Grayson Murray (0.027 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.47 sg:total)
Martin Flores (0.18 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.609 sg:total)
Aaron Baddeley (0.591 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.013 sg:total)
Jason Kokrak (1.024 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.444 sg:total)
Cameron Smith (0.893 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.289 sg:total)
Patton Kizzire (0.466 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.832 sg:total)
Chesson Hadley (0.538 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.9 sg:total)
Ryan Moore (1.301 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.655 sg:total)
Charles Howell III (1.318 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.668 sg:total)
Brian Gay (0.655 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.001 sg:total)
Nick Watney (0.745 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.088 sg:total)
Dustin Johnson (2.806 sg:bentgrass vs. 3.134 sg:total)
Rory Sabbatini (0.664 sg:bentgrass vs. 0.98 sg:total)
Billy Horschel (1.131 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.447 sg:total)
Brendan Steele (0.986 sg:bentgrass vs. 1.3 sg:total)

Last Updated:May 20th, 2019

Golfer Quotes

Q. How does a guy from Sacramento end up being a Texas Aggie?
CAMERON CHAMP: It was just through the recruiting process. I played a tournament in Houston. Kind of a funny story. JT asked me if I would come to the campus. I probably would not have gone and looked at A&M. I saw it just kind of fell in love compared to all the other schools I was looking at.

And for me, just to kind of get a little away from home, too. Slightly different weather conditions. I didn’t grow up on bermuda; for me it was poa and bent, so it was really new to me. I thought it was kind of a good choice. -2018 CC of Jackson

Q. Eight birdies, 25 putts. Are these greens that easy to read?
ABRAHAM ANCER: It depends. I love bent greens and these ones are really good and they roll real true, so just sticking to the process. I feel like I read the greens really well and today it obviously paid off and I’m just going to keep doing the same thing. -2018 TPC Potomac

Q. Given your progression, can you put into words what your appetite is for Augusta in two weeks, just given where you’ve come from?
TIGER WOODS: I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t really thought that much about it, especially this week. I’ve been grinding and focusing on this week, trying to win this thing and now the tournament’s over, I’ll start to make some changes for Augusta, what kind of equipment setup I’m going to go with, some things I want to do with my swing. As crazy as this may sound I haven’t putted on bent grass in two years. Mine is Bermuda, you can’t have bent down here, it is way too hot. So, no, I haven’t done a lot of these things, so these next couple weeks will be good work. -2018 Bay Hill

Q. Best-ever finish so far on the PGA tour. How does it feel?
RICK LAMB: I haven’t played all that well this year. Feel like I sort of turned a corner with my game. A lot more comfortable out here. Grew up about three hours from here, so I am pretty comfortable on bent grass. It’s been a good week. -2017 TPC Deere Run

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, typically wet conditions are not favorable for me, but this course does have some rough, and it is penal if you hit it in the rough. I think the greens are good. I like bentgrass greens. That’s what I grew up on. I can see the breaks, I can see the lines. -2016 Crooked Stick

RYAN MOORE: Yeah, I think that’s part of the success. I enjoy the course. I like bent greens a lot. These are honestly some of the best we putt on every single year, and they’re probably the best I’ve ever seen them this year. They’re fantastic. -2016 TPC Deere Run

Q. Is it the bentgrass greens?
PATRICK REED: Those are always nice. Any time you can get bentgrass greens, that just means one less factor. You don’t have all that really grainy Bermuda. -2016 Colonial

BRYCE MOLDER: But more than anything, these greens, I absolutely love. I wait all year to get on bentgrass greens. We’re finally here. I putted well last week. So for me, that’s where I get my momentum. -2016 Colonial

Q. You had success at the Travelers in New England. Is there anything similar to this course to that course?
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed — a lot of the amateur golf we played in high school and college was played on this northern bentgrass, really good turf, and I enjoy playing golf on this turf. Yeah, the courses up here suit me. I think they’re beautiful. And down south this time of year it can get so humid that Bermuda is totally different. It’s a great time of year to be in the northeast. – 2015 @ TPC Boston

JERRY KELLY: Well, it’s the grass. We just understand the bounces it’s going to take. We’d like to say this is about the purest grass you can play on, pure bent, a little poa annua mixed in. The Bermuda you’ve got to pay attention to the grain so much, and we usually overplay or underplay. Here just what you see is what you get. It’s a pretty comfortable feeling. -2014 TPC Deere Run

Q. Is there something about the style of golf up here, maybe the style of the course that kind of fits your style?
ROBERTO CASTRO: You know, I love bentgrass greens, that’s what I play up at home. That’s what I grew up on. I feel comfortable last week and this week on that type of surface. -2013 @ TPC Boston

Jim Bones Mackay: One read for bent, two for Bermuda. On Bermuda greens, which are slower and have more grain than bent-grass greens, I give two reads: a firm-speed read and a dying-speed read. You have options because you can afford to take some of the break out of the putt by hitting it harder, knowing the ball won’t roll too far past. On bent-grass greens, however, there really is only one true read: one where the ball will roll a foot and a half by the hole if it doesn’t go in.

At Augusta, where the bent-grass greens are free of grain and as fast as they get, the reads are simplified, and Phil and I decide on a line based on our mutual understanding of that one speed. When you’re reading greens for a partner, though, make sure you’re speaking the same language, and with consideration for the surface you’re playing. -Jim “Bones” Mackay, 2009 GolfDigest