Three golfers, Vijay, Ernie, and Phil , during five years had a total of 221 top-10 finishes. Ernie had 13 more top-10 finishes than Phil. Vijay had 16 more top-10 finishes than Phil. Determine the number of top-10 finishes for each golfer.
For this case what you must do first is to define the following variables: x: number of top-10 finishes for Vijay. y: number of top-10 finishes for Ernie. z: number of top-10 finishes for Phil. We write the following system of equations: x + y + z = 221 y = 13 + z x = 16 + z Solving the system we have: Step 1: x + y + z = 221 (13 + z) + (16 + z) + z = 221 3z + 29 = 221 z = (221-29) / (3) z = 64 Step 2: y = 13 + z y = 13 + 64 y = 77 Step 3: x = 16 + z x = 16 + 64 x = 80 Answer: the number of top-10 finishes for each golfer is: Vijay: 80 Ernie: 77 Phil 64
