Modern golf seems to be so much about distance and power that sometimes, you can forget that players are also perfectly capable of being successful without being the longest as well.
We’ve become so accustomed to seeing the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and more hammer the ball north of 300 yards off the tee, that it’s easy to expect everyone to do the same.
Do you think the PGA Tour reducing the amount of cards for 2026 to 100 is a good thing?
However, that’s not always the case and certainly not always the case in terms of golfers who get wins on the PGA Tour.
Indeed, just ask current PGA Tour player, Brian Campbell.
How Brian Campbell won twice in 2025 as the shortest driver on the PGA Tour
It’s quite remarkable really to look at the driving stats of Brian Campbell and then realise he won not only once on TOUR in 2025, but twice.
The 32-year-old won the Mexico Open all the way back in February to secure his PGA Tour future for the time being, before adding a second win at the John Deere Classic over the summer.
For Campbell, he very much proved that you don’t have to be the biggest hitter on TOUR to be a winner.
Campbell is right at the bottom of the pile when it comes to average driving distance. In fact, Campbell is the ONLY player on the PGA Tour in 2025 to not average over 280 yards off the tee. His average of 278.4 puts him rock bottom, behind Andrew Putnam.
In terms of what got Campbell over the line, well, his short-game is good. He is 52nd in strokes gained around the green and 40th for SG in putting. Still, these aren’t amazing numbers and it just goes to show that sometimes, it’s all about putting it together over the week to get those wins.
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The shortest and longest hitters on the PGA Tour in 2025
With Campbell being the bottom ranked player in terms of distance off the tee and being bottom in terms of SG off the tee as well, it’s worth looking at those around him.
However, it’s also worth looking at those at the top as well, and citing just what the difference is in terms of those big hitters.
| Shortest drivers on the PGA Tour in 2025 (average distance in yards) |
| Brian Campbell – 278.4 |
| Andrew Putnam – 280.5 |
| Paul Peterson – 282.3 |
| Matt Kuchar – 282.3 |
| Brandt Snedeker 284.3 |
As we can see, the distance between top and bottom here is some 47 yards. In most tournaments, that can make a big difference.
However, as we can see with Campbell, it’s all about wins and ultimately, he got it done twice in 2025.
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