Davis Thompson Wins the John Deere Classic to Earn a Spot in the 2024 Open Championship

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On 8 July 2024 Balls Tour Clubs

PGA TOUR | John Deere Classic 

In complete control of his Pro V1 golf ball, Davis Thompson birdied five of his first six holes Sunday at the TPC Deere Run to pull away from the pack, closing in 7-under 64 to win his first PGA TOUR title by four shots and earn a spot in the upcoming Open Championship. 

  • The 25-year-old and former World No. 1 amateur posted rounds of 63-67-62-64 to finish the week at 28 under par after a field-best 30 birdies and one eagle. 
  • For the week, Thompson gained more than 11 shots on the field tee-to-green (+11.263) with more than eight strokes gained on approach shots (+2.722/29th) and around the green (+5.336/5th).  
  • Sunday on the most difficult hole at TPC Deere Run – the 513-yard par-4 ninth – Thompson hit his 245-yard approach shot to 6 feet, 7 inches from the pin, the closest of the day.
  • He rolled in his Pro V1 for the birdie and a front-nine 29, the lowest front-nine score by a 54-hole leader this season.  

DAVIS THOMPSON ON HIS MOVE TO PRO V1 

  • Davis Thompson, now in his second season as a member of the PGA TOUR, switched to a Pro V1 golf ball during his junior season at the University of Georgia (2019-20), making the move from a competitive model.
  • He finished the season as a first-team All-American, ascending to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in November 2020 and again in March 2021. 
  • “I grew up playing [a competitive] golf ball and messed around with [other brands] a little bit, but I really settled in on [Pro V1] my last two years of college and never looked back. 
  • “It’s the best, it’s #1 on tour. I feel like it’s very consistent. I know what I’m going to get and I know if I put a good swing on it, I’m going to hit it in the right window, which is great. You don’t get any foul balls and I just feel like it's the most consistent.” 
  • “I play the Pro V1 because I'm a natural high ball hitter and it spins less with exceptional spin around the greens, so for me to be able to flight the golf ball how I want and control the windows I'm trying to hit it in is very, very key for me.” 
  • “I think getting fit for golf balls is kind of a lost art. I think it's huge for especially amateurs to know which golf ball they need to play. I know Titleist has a lot of great options for amateur players and if they can find the right one that fits them, it's not always just simply buying a Pro V1 to Pro V1x, but other options as well. You’ve got to find which one clicks all of the boxes that you want clicked off.” 
  • “When I think about Titleist, I just think about going to the first tee and showing your golf ball to your playing competitors. And a lot of times all three of them are showing a Titleist golf ball and the markings that they have on it. So that means a lot.” 

SEVEN WINS IN A ROW FOR TITLEIST GOLF BALL PLAYERS 

43 PLAYERS GAME NEW GT DRIVERS AT JOHN DEERE 

  • The rapid adoption of NEW Titleist GT drivers continued this week at the John Deere Classic, as 43 players gamed a NEW GT2, GT3 or GT4 model at the John Deere.
  • Eight players made the move to the new models this week, joining the 31 players who added a GT driver to the bag at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. 
  • Since their debut at the Memorial Tournament, more than 60 players have already teed up a GT driver on the PGA TOUR. 
  • Titleist was the most played driver at TPC Deere Run with 64 drivers in play (41%).
  • The 43 GT drivers played this week accounted for more than the nearest competitor’s total number of drivers (35).  
  • Titleist Brand Ambassador Chesson Hadley moved into a NEW GT2 10.0° driver this week, and he recorded his most accurate driving round of the year on Sunday (86%).
  • He also recorded his fastest clubhead speed of the season (116.14 mph).
  • Also adding a GT driver this week was FedExCup No. 86, who averaged a season-best 312.5 yards off the tee in Round 2 playing a GT2 9.0°.
  • The 2016 Wells Fargo champion added a GT3 9.0° driver and a GT2 13.5 fairway this week and recorded two single-round season-high's: 93% driving accuracy in Round 1 and a 317.5-yard average off the tee in Round 4.  

C.T. PAN ADDS GT METALS, T150 IRONS; FINISHES T2, QUALIFIES FOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 

  • Titleist Brand Ambassador C.T. Pan shot rounds of 65-63-68-64 to finish T2 at 24 under, earning a spot in the field at the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
  • Pan, gaming his Pro V1x golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment, gained 11.521 strokes on the field from tee to green (2nd in the field) this week, with an additional 3.174 gained on the greens. 
  • Last week at the Rocket Mortgage, Pan was one of 31 players who added a NEW GT driver to the bag.
  • Making his first TOUR start since the models launched at the Memorial, Pan put a NEW GT2 9.0° driver and a NEW GT3 16.5° fairway in the bag.
  • This week, he gained 1.473 strokes on the field off the tee, hitting 71% of his fairways in regulation – including his season’s best Driving Accuracy in Round 1 (86%).
  • On Sunday, he averaged 298 yards in Driving Distance (All Drives), also a season best.  
  • New to Pan’s setup this week were his T150 5-9 irons, having previously played T100 5-9 irons.
  • Pan saw higher launch and more distance with the 150’s, which helped him hit 57 of 72 greens in regulation this week (79%, T14). 

What’s in the Bag? | C.T. Pan 

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: NEW GT2 9.0° | Fujikura Ventus Red 6 X  
Fairway Metals: NEW GT3 16.5° | Fujikura Ventus Red 7 X  and TSR2 21.0° | Mitsubishi Tensei CK 80 TX  
Utility Iron: U•505 1 | Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 80  
Irons: T200 4 | KBS PGI 90 and T150 5-9 | KBS PGI 90  
Wedges: Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 52.08F, WedgeWorks 58.06K | True Temper Dynamic Gold Purple S400  
Putter: Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.5 tour prototype

WAGR NO. 3 FINISHES TOP-10 IN BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS 

  • On the heels of a T10 finish at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, the world’s third-ranked amateur closed in 8-under 63, finishing T2 and becoming the first amateur since 1958 to finish in the top 10 in back-to-back TOUR starts.
  • Playing his Pro V1 golf ball, he made 26 birdies and an eagle while gaining 6.820 strokes on the field with his approach play (2nd) this week.
  • He also gained 3.87 strokes off the tee (6th) gaming his TSR2 8.0° driver.  
  • Over eight combined rounds between the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic, he is 38 under par.
  • He ranked second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee in Detroit and sixth in the same statistic this week in the Quad Cities.
  • The events marked just his second and third career PGA TOUR starts, and his first came just four weeks prior at the U.S. Open (T41).  

SPRINGER SHOOTS 59 

  • Titleist Brand Ambassador Hayden Springer opened the week with a 12-under 59, the 14th sub-60 score in PGA TOUR history.
  • Springer, gaming his Pro V1 golf ball along with his NEW GT driver and fairways, made eight birdies and two eagles while gaining 5.381 strokes from tee to green on the day. 
  • Springer went on to finish T7 at 21 under, his best finish since a T3 at the Puerto Rico Open in March.  

What’s in the Bag? | Hayden Springer 

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: GT3 8.0° | Diamana GT 70 TX 
Fairway Metals: GT2 13.5° | Diamana GT 80 TX and GT3 18.0° fairway | Project X HZRDUS Black 80 6.5 
Irons: T150 4-9 irons | KBS C-Taper 125 S+ 
Wedges: Vokey Design SM9 46.10F (@ 44), SM10 50.08F, 54.10S, SM9 60.08M | KBS $-Taper Reinforced 125 S+ (46), Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (50-60) 

DP WORLD TOUR | BMW International Open 

Ewen Ferguson (Pro V1) closed in 4-under 68, winning his third DP World Tour event and earning a spot in the field at the Open Championship.

  • Ferguson carded rounds of 67-64-71-68 to post 18 under, good for a two-shot win. 
  • Over the three rounds with measured stats, Ferguson ranked 4th in Strokes Gained: Approach (+1.97 per round) and 4th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (+2.6).
  • He finished T7 in Greens in Regulation (76%).  
  • Titleist was the most played driver at the BMW International with 55 (35%) in play. Of those, 34 were NEW GT models.
  • Eleven players made the move to a NEW GT driver for the first time this week, including the 2018 Masters champion, who put a NEW GT3 8.0° driver in the bag. 

FERGUSON ON HIS PRO V1 

  • “I am currently playing with the (2023) Titleist Pro V1. After conducting some testing, I noticed that I was getting slightly lower spin with the driver allowing me to manipulate the golf ball a lot easier as well as having that bit more control when playing in windy conditions. Around the greens too, the ball felt nice and soft off the face when chipping, hitting bunker shots as well as with the putter too, so it was a no brainer.” 

LET | Aramco Team Series – London 

Leona Maguire (Pro V1) earned her first career LET title, making a clutch eagle on the 18th hole to win by one.

  • Maguire, who became the first Irishwoman to win on the LET with her victory, posted a three-round total of 8 under around the Centurion Club.   

JGTO | Japan PGA Championship 

Yuta Sugiura (Pro V1x) earned his first victory as a professional, posting 18 under to win by one.

  • The 22-year-old, who became the first ever amateur to win the JGTO’s Dunlop Phoenix Tournament last year, carded rounds of 65-66-65-72 to triumph around Fuji Country Kani Club.  

ASIAN TOUR | International Series Morocco 

Titleist Brand Ambassador Ben Campbell overcame a three-shot deficit with two holes to play, tying the lead in regulation and then winning in extra holes.

  • Campbell, playing his Pro V1 golf ball and TSR driver among his Titleist setup, made eagle on the par-4 17th and birdie on the 72nd hole to reach 15 under.
  • Another birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff saw Campbell claim his second career Asian Tour title. 

What’s in the Bag? | Ben Campbell

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TSR2 10.0°
Hybrid: TSR3 19.0°
Irons: T100 4-PW
Wedges: Vokey Design SM9 50.12F, WedgeWorks 54.08M, 60.10S

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