Who is the ‘worst’ player on the European Tour?

It’s almost Hallowe’en, and so here at NCG we started wondering which players would want to banish the ghost of the past season?
Which players had a real horror show with their driving? Who had a shocker on the greens?
We didn’t want to punish Challenge Tour players who have played just a couple of rounds on an invite, so this feature only includes players who have managed 50 rounds or more on the European Tour this season.
Without further ado, the European Tour’s ’worst’ players of 2015:

JASON PALMER

73.4.  

(season’s best – 69.61, Justin Rose)
The Melton Mowbray golfer who shot to fame with his one-handed chipping has found scoring tough this year.
He’s taken 3,670 strokes over 50 rounds, but due to a wrist injury  his last appearance was in June, denying him the opportunity to fix this record.

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Palmer managed to make the cut in 8 of his 19 tournaments this year, but it’s at the weekend when he’s done the most damage to his scoring average, recording scores of 82, 81, 80 and others in the high 70s.
Its not been a picture-perfect year debut season for Palmer on the European Tour and he’s 191st on the R2D rankings.

“I think it kind of highlights just how good you have to be. I really need to get in better shape physically and just keep improving. These guys are making it look easy at times when you watch the coverage, but I can guarantee you it’s not easy out there. You have got to have ultimate control of your golf ball.”

PETER UIHLEIN

47.5%  

(season’s best – 81.3%, Simon Wakefield)

The American is 76th on the Race to Dubai, despite hitting less than half of the airways he aims for during 1,013 attempts this year across 73 rounds. That averages out at just 6.6 fairways per round.

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Despite his wayward driving, Uihlein came within a whisker of recording a 59 at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2013 and ended the season as the Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. Maybe Cotton, renowned for his discipline, could have given Uihlein some tips.
“I feel like if I take care of health, body and make some manoeuvres and swings and stuff like that, I think the results are going to take care of themselves.”

MARCO CRESPI

267.1 yards  

(season’s longest average 327.3 yards, Hayden Porteous)
Over 140 drives, Italian Marco Crespi has hit his ball 37,388 yards, meaning he’s usually the bloke hitting his second shot first.

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However, that does make him accurate, hitting 78.1% of fairways, and last year it even translation into a win at the NH Collection Open.

He had finally secured his card at the 11th attempt and the victory made him the oldest rookie to win in European Tour history, aged 35 years and 152 days.

SOREN HANSEN

60.9%  

(season’s best average – 80.8%, Henrik Stenson)

Two-time European Tour winner Hansen has been taking his time getting to the greens this season, hitting 11 per round in regulation.

It’s not a bad ratio, but he hits 3.5 less per round than Stenson, the Tour leader, and that soon adds up.

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This year the 2008 Ryder Cup player is 174th on the Race to Dubai and he’s dropped to 804 on the world rankings.

He is 41 though, so maybe Hansen’s best days are behind him.
“I tried to play this little fancy semi shot or whatever, and it came out totally on the toe of the club – I hit a spectator I believe.”

ALVARO QUIROS

31.4  

(season’s best average – 27.8%, Richard T Lee)

Six European Tour wins, but none since 2011, and statistically Quiros is the worst putter on Tour.

Standing at 6ft 3in, he topped the driving distance category four times between 2007 and 2011.

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But that putting is letting him down and now the Spaniard is 128th on the R2D standings.

So what do you do when you’re struggling with the putter? Hit a hole-in-one and you won’t need to use it – which is exactly what Quiros did at the Dubai Desert Classic in February.
“There was nobody around, it was too early. Unfortunately that’s what happens when you don’t play that good in the first three rounds. There is no people to clap.”