README

golfastR provides easy access to PGA Tour tournament data from ESPN, delivering leaderboards and hole-by-hole scoring in tidy data formats ready for analysis.

Installation

# Install from CRAN
install.packages("golfastr")

# Or install development version from GitHub
# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("array-carpenter/golfastr")

Quick Start

library(golfastr)

# Get the tournament schedule
schedule <- load_schedule(2026)

# Load a tournament leaderboard
sony <- load_leaderboard(2026, "Sony")

# Get hole-by-hole scoring for top 10
holes <- load_holes(2026, "Sony", top_n = 10)

Core Functions

Tournament Schedule

# Get schedule for a season
schedule <- load_schedule(2026)

# Returns: event_id, tournament_name, start_date, end_date

Leaderboards

# Load by tournament name (partial match)
masters <- load_leaderboard(2026, "Masters")
phoenix <- load_leaderboard(2026, "Phoenix")

# Load by event ID
lb <- load_leaderboard(2026, "401703504")

# Load all tournaments for the year
all_lb <- load_leaderboard(2026)

Hole-by-Hole Scoring

# Get scorecards for top finishers
holes <- load_holes(2026, "Sony", top_n = 10)

# Returns: player_id, player_name, round, hole, par, score, score_type

Player Directory

# Get players from recent tournaments
players <- load_players(2026)

Data Fields

Leaderboard

Hole-by-Hole

Local Storage

Field	Description
position	Final standing
player_id	ESPN athlete ID
player_name	Player display name
total_score	Total strokes
score_to_par	Score vs par (e.g., “-11”)
status	Player status

Field	Description
round	Round number (1-4)
hole	Hole number (1-18)
par	Par for hole
score	Strokes on hole
score_type	BIRDIE, PAR, BOGEY, EAGLE, etc.

# Save to RDS (native R format)
save_to_rds(leaderboard_data, file_path = "golf_data.rds")

# Load from RDS
data <- load_from_rds(file_path = "golf_data.rds")

# Or use Parquet for cross-language compatibility (requires arrow)
save_to_parquet(leaderboard_data, file_path = "golf_data.parquet")
data <- load_from_parquet(file_path = "golf_data.parquet")

# Auto-detect format with load_data()
data <- load_data("golf_data.rds")
data <- load_data("golf_data.parquet", tournament = "Masters")

Build a Season Database

# Incrementally fetch all tournaments for a season
build_season(2025, file_path = "pga_2025.rds")

# Check progress
check_season(2025, file_path = "pga_2025.rds")

Analysis Functions

# Player season summary
player_summary("Scheffler", file_path = "golf_data.rds")

# Compare multiple players
compare_players(c("Scheffler", "McIlroy"), file_path = "golf_data.rds")

# Win leaders
win_leaders(file_path = "golf_data.rds")

# Scoring average leaders
scoring_avg_leaders(file_path = "golf_data.rds")

golfastR