Buhr typically starts out the season slowly (for his insane expectations). In 2025 he didn’t win a DGPT event until the Kansas City Wide Open at the end of April. This year is quite different. He has won two out of the first three DGPT events and came in second at the other one (losing to Ricky Wysocki by a single stroke at the Supreme Flight Open).
His statistical performance has backed up his finishes. He is putting and throwing like no other… Well, I guess that is the question to ask. How does Buhr’s start to the season stack up?
Let’s first look at the + stats. If you average across all + stats (FH+,Parked+,C1R+,C2R+,Sc+,C1P+,C2P+) for this season, Gannon’s average is by far the highest in 2026. In fact, if you compare his + stat average to all other players going back to the start of the pro tour in 2016, his value is second only to McBeth’s amazing 2019.
OK, so according to these stats, his season is incredible, but not the best! Well, + stats have their limits. They only compare you to players in a given season. So, Gannon is 50% better than the average touring player in 2026. McBeth was 53% better than the average touring player in 2019. I think we can all agree that the average touring player is better in 2026 than they were in 2019.
So, instead of + stats, let’s use true strokes gained. These stats compare a player to a ratings benchmark (in this case 1000) and not the average player. The table below shows the true dominator that is Gannon Buhr. His true strokes gained in 2026 is the best we’ve seen (since 2016). And what is perhaps more amazing is that he holds the top-3 spots, with McBeth’s 2019 in a lowly 13th position.
Skeptics will rightly note that 2026 is only three events old, so Gannon’s per event tSG is likely to regress to the mean. They will also note that rating inflation could be a thing that makes Gannon’s recent seasons look too good. And of course, these skeptics are right. However, there is no arguing that the his start to 2026 is incredible. So incredible that it may be the start of the best season of all time.