BIG NUMBERS Golfers go for the smallest number when playing a hole, but here are some big numbers in the game. * BY JOSEPH OBERLE * Penalty Strokes For a single breach of the Rules of Golf, a player can be assessed a two-stroke penalty at the most. But is it possible to take one swing and incur more than two penalty strokes? MGA Rules and Competition director Doug Hoffmann says: " There are a few situations in which a player may incur more than two penalty strokes by virtue of breaching multiple penalties. Here is one: A player improves his line of play in a bunker prior to playing and also 'grounds' the club immediately behind the ball prior to making the stroke. The player incurs two two-stroke penalties, one for each breach since they are separate acts. " It's two acts, but two breaches prior to one swing for four penalty strokes. That's going to be a big number. The Masters The Masters Tournament has been contested 83 times with 47 different winners. Seventeen Masters champions have won more than one Green Jacket. Jack Nicklaus has the most, with six titles. Defending champion Tiger Woods has fi ve and can tie Nicklaus this spring. Woods is back to chasing history. Average 7-Iron Distance DISTANCE IN YARDS 80 120 Women Men 172 - 180 Tiger Woods An informal survey for golfi ngtipsforbeginners.com revealed that amateur players hit 7-irons (one of the clubs that's used most often) an average distance of 120 yards for men and 80 yards for women. Tiger Woods hits his middle irons (the 5-, 6- and 7-irons) a distance ranging from 172 to 208 yards. And he's had four back surgeries. Professional Wins Tiger Woods tied Sam Snead with 82 professional wins this past fall-the most PGA Tour wins of all time. But neither golfer has matched Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 tournaments on the LPGA Tour-the most of any golfer. For local context, Minnesotan and Hall of Famer Patty Berg has 63 wins (15 of them majors) and Alexandria native Tom Lehman has fi ve PGA Tour wins and 12 Champions Tour titles. 88 10 MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2020 mngolf.orghttp://www.ngtipsforbeginners.com http://www.mngolf.org