Ranking driving performance of professional golfers. A group of Northeastern University researchers developed a new method for ranking the total driving performance of golfers on the Professional Golf Association (PGA) tour (Sport Journal, Winter 2007). The method requires knowing a golfer's average driving distance (yards) and driving accuracy (percent of drives that land in the fairway). The values of these two variables are used to compute a driving performance index. Data for the top 40 PGA golfers (as ranked by the new method) are saved in the PGADRIVER file. (The first five and last five observations are listed in the table below.) A professional golfer is practicing a new swing to increase his average driving distance.
However, he is concerned that his driving accuracy will be lower. Is his concern a valid one? Use simple linear regression, where y = driving accuracy and x = driving distance, to answer the question.