How Many Paths Are Possible in an 18 Hole Round of Match Play Golf?

As a competitive golfer, and someone who has played in matches included in this data, this analysis was really interesting and spot on in analysis.

The one thing I've always wondered about is about seeding. The author mentions how there's a 60.3% chance that the higher seed wins that match since the seedings are based on the two qualifying rounds. My guess is that the vast number of higher seeds winning comes in the first round of matches. In my experience, if you win one match, both players are good enough for it to be a toss up.

The other point on this topic would be running the analysis for men and women separately. From what I've seen, there is a much greater skill gap between the really good women and the "average" women than the really good men and the "average" man. I would expect to see a higher percentage of higher seeds in women to win than in the men's case.

Coolest part about this from a golfers perspective is the last chart, which shows real data overlaid on the path diagram. Match play golf seems to fit the curve...

coool