In “Hot & Cold,” we’ll be focusing each week on what specific areas of the game players excelled and disappointed in throughout the previous tournament. Last week saw one of the most dramatic Sunday’s thus far in 2019, and here’s a look at where some of the most notable players gained and lost strokes over the four days of action.

Hot

There is only one man to begin this section with, and that’s the winner himself, Keith Mitchell. Mitchell came into the event with three missed cuts in his last four tournaments, and unlike many breakthrough winners on Tour, Mitchell didn’t claim victory due to an exceptionally hot putter in Florida. Mitchell gained less than a stroke with the flat-stick for the four days of action at PGA National, which was less than any other player who finished in the top-six, and significantly less than every other winner on the PGA Tour so far in 2019.

What Mitchell did was produce the performance of his career tee to green. The American led the field in strokes gained tee to green for the four days with a total of 11.9 strokes. Sergio Garcia was the only other player in the event to gain double digits over the field in this department. Click here to see what driver, woods and irons Mitchell had in his bag at PGA National.

Rickie Fowler came agonizingly close to forcing a playoff on late Sunday evening, and unlike in Phoenix where he scorched the course with his flat-stick, the 30-year-old did his best work last week with his long game. Equipped with his Cobra F9 driver, Cobra Forged irons, and Cobra V-grind wedges, Fowler gained 7.8 strokes over the field for his play tee to green. Only once since 2017 (last year’s PGA Championship) has Fowler gained more strokes in a tournament in this department.

Brooks Koepka was another man to miss out on a playoff on Sunday night narrowly, but his performance on the greens will buoy the American. After losing strokes to the field on the greens in seven of his last nine events on Tour, Koepka gained almost four strokes over the field with his Titleist Scotty Cameron Tour Only T10 Select Newport at PGA National. However, it’s Koepka’s iron play with his Mizuno JPX 919 Tour Irons which spearheaded his charge in Florida. Koepka gained 6.6 strokes over the field for his approach play last week, the third-best total of his career and best since 2017.

Cold

Known throughout his illustrious career as being one of the best putters in the game, last week Zach Johnson suffered a nightmare on PGA National’s Bermuda greens. Johnson lost strokes each day on the greens and finished the event with a negative total of 6.7 strokes with the flat-stick. Johnson was the second worst in the field in this department, and the total is Johnson’s worst strokes gained putting statistic post-2011.

Webb Simpson came into the Honda Classic boasting seven straight events on Tour where he had gained strokes over the field for his approach play and sitting third on Tour for the season for strokes gained approaching the green. Simpson, however, struggled mightily with his iron play at the Honda Classic, losing 4.7 strokes to the field for his approach shots. It was a case of what could have been for Simpson, who gained strokes in every other significant strokes gained statistics and finished the event T36. Only on two different occasions has Simpson lost more strokes to the field with his approach play in his career.

Justin Thomas failed to get himself into contention at the Honda Classic settling in the end for a T30 finish. One area of Thomas’ game which was off all week was his approach play. Thomas lost 3.2 strokes to the field with his irons at PGA National, and incredibly, it is the first time Thomas has lost strokes for his approach shots since the WGC-Mexico in March of last year.