Among the most revealing in the myriad of statistics PGATour.com lists for each player is an item called bounce back.

Basically, bounce back ranks players in relation to their performance immediately following a bogey, double bogey or worse.

Bounce back may not be the most important stat, or even in the top 10, but it says a lot about a player’s resilience and how he responds to adversity.

Quickly regaining lost momentum can be critical in preventing a round from going bad, and for turning it into something positive.

Chris Stroud was able to finish an impressive tied for seventh in the Waste Management Phoenix Open because of an uncanny ability to bounce back. Stroud was a mind-blowing seven-under-par on the hole following his five bogeys, one double bogey and one triple bogey. He finished the tourney at 11-under-273 on rounds of 71-66-67-69.

Only once, after making a triple bogey in round one, did Stroud fail to come right back with a birdie or better. The better was an eagle following a double bogey. He followed the five bogeys with five birdies. After starting the week ranked 107 in the bounce back stat, Stroud jumped to 16.

More importantly, he rose from 195 to 115 in FedEx Cup points. In a year when his playing card, and perhaps his PGA Tour career is on the line, those bounce backs could well be a turning point. Incredibly, he was able to do it despite hitting only 27 of 56 fairways. Several of the misses were almost off the course.

Things got so unpredictable with the driver, Stroud got himself a new one after the third round. The change, however, made little statistical difference, as he found only 6 of 14 fairways on the way to a closing 69.

In some ways, he was almost Tigeresque — a reminder of Woods shooting 32 on the front nine of last year’s PGA while only hitting three fairways.

While the bottom line was encouraging, it is unlikely Stroud can continue to prosper on the PGA Tour without his driver becoming more dependable. He can’t count on being No. 1 in putts per greens in regulation, or No. 2 in strokes gained putting week in and week out.

That said, there is no minimizing what Stroud was able to accomplish with a balky driver. His 136 was the fourth lowest score of the weekend, and his 202 over the final 54 holes was tied for second. In only his third tournament back after a two-month injury layoff, he doggedly fought his way into the top 10.

To put that in perspective, it was his first top 10 in a PGA Tour stroke-play event since he tied for ninth in the 2017 PGA Championship.

Stroud’s comeback tour rolls onto the Monterey Peninsula this week for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. It will be his fourth consecutive week to play, and he’ll make it five in a row next week at Riviera in Los Angeles.

As regular readers of this column know, the PNG ex has vowed to play 20 of 24 weeks. That’s incredibly taxing for anybody, much less a recently turned 37-year-old who has to do intense rehab work on his shoulder on a daily basis.

One would expect Chris to back off that a little bit, especially if he moves up enough in FedEx points to guarantee his card for 2020. Asked about that late Sunday, he emphatically said there would be no changes in the schedule as long as he stays healthy.

Perhaps that attitude can be explained with a revealing quote Stroud offered up last month, as he was preparing to return to the tour.

“My downfall over the years is that I give 100 percent for a month or so, then I chill out for a while. That is not going to happen this time. I know how to fight and I am fighting to get my career back. It is getting tougher and tougher with all these good young players, so I know I need to be 100 percent focused and committed.”

Hopefully, then, Phoenix was not an aberration of short-game magic but a sign of good things to come.
CHIP SHOTS

PNG’s Timothy Feemster posted his second consecutive win in Boys 16-18 on the Texas Louisiana Junior Tour. Feemster carded a 72 to finish four shots clear of Jadon Bell at Frasch Park in Sulphur. Nobody else broke 80.

Other flight winners included Xander Parks of Orangefield (75 in Boys 14-15), Lincoln Parks of Orangefield (79 in Boys 12-13), Cari Denson of Hankamer (81 in Girls 16-18), Cadence Underwood of Bridge City (95 in Girls 14-15) and Tatum Bean of Groves (58 in Girls 12-13, 9 holes).

In the coed flights, Keeton Robertson of DeQuincy won 10-11, nine-hole modified with a 40 and Laiton James of Sulphur placed first with a 26 in 7-9, six-hole modified. …

The team of Earl Richard, Jimmy Cady, Ron Mistrot and Pete T won the front nine in the Monday Senior 50 Plus 2-ball at Babe Zaharias at minus-2. On the back, the foursome of Ronnie LaSalle, Rick Pritchett, Lee Bertrand and Jeff Rinehart placed first with minus 3. …

Kenny Robbins’ team, which included Danny Robbins, Harrell Guidry and Charles Perez, scored a sweep in the Super Saturday 2-ball at Zaharias, winning the front with minus-1 and the back in minus-2. …

The team of Bob Byerly, Gene Jones, Tom LeTourneau and Bob Barnes took the front in minus-1 in the Friday 2-ball at Zaharias. On the back, the foursome of James Shipley, Pritchett, Bertrand and James Trahan placed first at plus 1.

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