Watching a professional golf tournament can be just as thrilling as playing, but deciphering the crowded leaderboard can sometimes feel like trying to read a foreign language. Understanding what Pos means is your first step to unlocking the drama of the competition. This guide will clearly explain what Pos signifies and break down all the other essential terms you need to know to follow the action like a seasoned veteran.
In the simplest terms, "Pos" is the abbreviation for "Position." This column on a golf leaderboard tells you a player's current rank in the tournament compared to every other player in the field. It’s the quickest way to see who is leading, who is in contention, and who is falling behind.
If you see a "1" in the "Pos" column next to a golfer's name, they are in first place. If you see a "15," they are in fifteenth place. The lower the number, the better the player is doing.
However, there's a vital letter you'll almost always see next to the numbers: "T". This stands for "Tied." Golf is a game where ties are extremely common. When two or more players have the same total score, they share the same position. For example, if two players are tied for second place, their position will be displayed as "T2." It doesn't mean one is in 2nd and the other is in 3rd, they both occupy the second-place spot on the leaderboard.
Understanding ties is important for reading the board correctly. Let's imagine an example:
The next player on the leaderboard, Player E, has a score of -7. What is their position? It's not 3rd, and it's not 4th. Since three players are occupying the slots for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place, Player E is in 5th place. Her Pos would be "5." The leaderboard skips the numbers of the tied positions to make the ranking accurate.
A player's position is determined by a single factor: their cumulative score in relation to par. In professional tournament golf, the goal is to have the lowest score possible. The golfer with the lowest score sits at the top of the leaderboard in the number one position.
The "To Par" column is the heart of the leaderboard. This number shows how many strokes over or under par a player is for the entire tournament to that point.
The player with the most negative score will be in the top position. For example, a player at -9 is ahead of a player at -8, who is ahead of a player at E (even par), who is ahead of a player at +1.
This is why the leaderboard is so dynamic, especially on the final day. A single shot can dramatically alter a player's position. Imagine a player at -5 sinks a long putt for a birdie (-1). Her score moves to -6, and she might jump from 8th place to T5. On the flip side, if an errant tee shot leads to a double bogey (+2), her score could plummet from -5 to -3, dropping her down ten or more spots on the leaderboard.
To fully grasp the story of a tournament, you'll need to know more than just "Pos." Here is a glossary of the other common terms you'll see on television broadcasts and online leaderboards.
This column shows the golfer's score for the current round only. It tells you who is playing well today. If a player is leading the tournament at -10 but their "TODAY" score is +2, it means they are having a rough day and are likely falling back towards the pack. Conversely, a player far down the leaderboard might have a "TODAY" score of -6, which indicates they are on a hot streak and "making a charge" up the leaderboard. An "E" signifies an Even-par round for the day.
This tells you how many holes a player has completed in their current round. If this column says "12" for a player, it means they have just finished the 12th hole and are heading to the 13th tee. You will also see two other important pieces of information here:
Less common on TV but often seen online, this shows the player's total number of strokes taken for the entire tournament. For example, after three rounds on a par 72 course (216 strokes for par), a player who is -4 "To Par" would have a "TOTAL" score of 212.
For most four-day professional tournaments (Thursday-Sunday), there is a "cut" after the second round on Friday. Only the top players (typically the top 65 or 70 and ties) get to continue playing on the weekend for a chance at the prize money. Players who do not score well enough are said to have "missed the cut."
After the cut is made on Friday, you'll see these abbreviations next to the names of players who are no longer competing:
Now let's use all of this information to analyze a sample leaderboard a few hours into the final round on Sunday.
POS PLAYER TO PAR RND THRU
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1 Jordan Spieth -12 -4 F
T2 Scottie Scheffler -11 -3 16
T2 Rory McIlroy -11 -1 F
4 Jon Rahm -10 -5 17
5 Viktor Hovland -9 E F
T45 Adam Scott E +2 F
MC Tiger Woods +5
Here’s the story this leaderboard is telling us:
By understanding these simple terms, you can instantly see the entire competitive landscape: who's finished, who has holes left to make a move, and who's on fire for the day.
Understanding a golf leaderboard, especially the "Pos" column, transforms you from a casual fan into an informed observer. Once you know "Pos" means position and can interpret related terms like "To Par," "Thru," and the crucial cut line, the entire narrative of the tournament unfolds right before your eyes.
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