Top 100 players to watch in 2011: No. 39 Bo Van Pelt

text size

MORE TOP 100 PLAYERS: CLICK FOR Player No. 38 | BACK TO Player No. 40 | Top 100 archive

So what if Bo Van Pelt didn't get to defend his only PGA TOUR victory last year because the tournament in Milwaukee was no longer on the schedule? If he plays this year like he did during the 2010 campaign, the Oklahoma State product is sure to have more chances -- and soon.

Van Pelt eagles at THE PLAYERS Van Pelt nearly holes out Van Pelt birdies 72nd at Frys.com

Van Pelt followed his first win with a career year in earnings with $3.3 million and top-10 finishes with four. Only Matt Kuchar, Retief Goosen and Steve Stricker had more, and Van Pelt added six more among the top-25 in an extremely consistent campaign.

He might have been the hottest player on TOUR during a six-tournament stretch that began with a tie for third at the Verizon Heritage and ended with another at the Memorial Tournament. Four of those finishes were fifth or better. Van Pelt also ended the season strong with consecutive top-10s after he played in his first TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Favorite BVP quote: "Wake up every day like you are broke and hungry and you will never be either."... actually that is his dad's.

With eight top 10s and 12 six-figure paydays in 2010, BVP fulfilled the kind of fantasy punch that his numbers have always projected. And in nine seasons on TOUR, he's never teed it up in fewer than 28 events. Garish figures lead to giddiness in the fantasy world, but salary leaguers are advised to take a year off given his $3.336-million cost.

Here's how Bo Van Pelt has ranked in three key categories in the last five years

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010   64th 79th 50th 30th 64th 58th 115th 40th 13th 105th 126th 255th 153rd 44th

* - end of 2010 PGA TOUR season

HOW THE RATINGS ARE COMPILED
Power Rating: An aggregate score based on several Off the Tee statistics used to measure a player's performance off the tee. The statistics used to compute this are: Driving Distance, Percentage of Drives over 300 yards and Percentage of Drives over 320 yards.
Accuracy Rating: An aggregate score based on several Off the Tee and Approach the Green statistics used to measure a player's overall accuracy from tee to green. The statistics used to compute this are: Driving Accuracy, GIR over 100 yards and Proximity to Hole over 100 yards.
Short Game Rating: An aggregate score based on several Around the Green statistics used to measure a player's performance 100 yards and in (not including putting). The statistics used to compute this are: Scrambling, Proximity to the Hole (PTH) from sand, PTH from Rough, PTH from fringe, PTH from less than 100 yards and Greens in Regulation from less than 100 yards.
Putting Rating: An aggregate score based on several Putting statistics used to measure a player's performance on the green. The statistics used to compute this are: Putting Average, Putting inside 5 feet, Putting from 5-15 feet, Putting from 15-25 feet, Average distance of putts made and 3-putt avoidance over 25 feet.
Scoring Rating: Score used to measure a player's performance on scoring. The statistic used to compute this is Scoring Average.