Pro V1 Loyalist Viktor Hovland Defends His Title in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On 5 December 2022 Balls Tour Clubs

PGA TOUR | Hero World Challenge

Viktor Hovland (Pro V1) posted a 16-under victory total with rounds of 69-70-64-69 to win by two shots and successfully defend his title in the Bahamas.

  • Having started Sunday’s final round with a three-shot lead, Hovland made three birdies on his front nine to extend his lead to five shots at the turn.
  • Birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 were enough to hold off a back nine charge from runner-up Scottie Scheffler (Pro V1), who finished two shots back at 14 under.
  • Cameron Young (Pro V1 Left Dot) finished solo third at 12 under, completing a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist ball players.
  • The win marked Hovland’s fourth worldwide win in the last 13 months, and he rises to No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking after this week’s result.

HOVLAND ON THE CONSISTENCY OF PRO V1

  • “I just always grew up with the Titleist Pro V1 feel and always loved it. There was not a thought in my head that occurred, ‘Oh, I should maybe try a different ball.’ Why would I? I was really happy with the consistency. I think there’s always been this consensus that you go in the pro shop and you buy a sleeve of balls, you’re going to get the same ball as the last time you bought the sleeve of balls. I think that consistency gives you that reassurance that you know what you’re going to get.”

HOVLAND ON HOW HE MARKS HIS PRO V1

  • “I usually just put a line on it, a black line, because I cannot putt without this, literally cannot aim, so I usually just try to get it as square as I can, fill up the whole area. I usually just leave it at that. I see a lot of guys put a bunch of circles or just random stuff on there. I feel like if I just have a black line, that's unique enough because usually everyone else puts other stuff on there, so I just keep it simple. I usually just play with [numbers] one, two, three or four. It doesn't really matter to me.”

DP WORLD TOUR/PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA | ISPS Handa Australian Open

Adrian Meronk (Pro V1) closed in 4-under 66 to claim his second career DP World Tour win.

  • Meronk, who took the lead on the front nine, extended his advantage with a key birdie on No. 15 and punctuated his victory with a 72nd hole eagle to post 14 under.
  • Twenty-three birdies and two eagles for the week in the Melbourne Sandbelt was enough to give Meronk a five-shot win over Adam Scott (Pro V1), and he was the only player in the field to finish double-digits under par.
  • Alejandro Cañizares (Pro V1) and Haydn Barron (Pro V1x Left Dash) earned exemptions into the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool with finishes of T4 each at 7 under.
  • Barron finished birdie-eagle on the 71st and 72nd hole to vault up the leader board and secure his first career Open Championship appearance.

TITLEIST TOPS COUNTS AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN

  • Titleist was the top choice of more players across every major equipment category, including golf balls, drivers, fairway metals, hybrids, utility irons, irons, wedges and putters.
  • In fact, there were more Titleist drivers, utilities, irons, and wedges in play in their respective categories than all other brands combined. Titleist recorded four equipment sweeps over the 2021-2022 PGA TOUR season.

DP WORLD TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR | The Investec South African Open Championship

Thriston Lawrence (Pro V1) won his home country’s national open, posting 16 under for the week after a clutch par on No. 18 locked up a one-shot win.

  • Lawrence recorded rounds of 64-67-67-74 and made 26 birdies over the course of the week in Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • The victory was Lawrence’s second in 2022 and the third of his career.
  • Six of the top 8 finishers on the final leader board teed up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x model.

JAPAN GOLF TOUR | Golf Nippon Series JT Cup

Hideto Tanihara, playing the all-new 2023 Pro V1x golf ball, came from four shots back in Sunday’s final round to defend his title at the JGTO’s season finale.

  • Tanihara posted a bogey-free 5-under 65 final round to finish at 12 under and win by one shot.
  • The victory was Tanihara’s 17th JGTO title, with his last win coming 12 months prior at the very same event.
  • Gaming the NEW Pro V1 golf ball, last week’s champion Chan Kim was one of three players who finished one shot back from the winning score.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR 2023 PRO V1 & PRO V1x ON JGTO

  • Tanihara’s victory marks consecutive victories for NEW Pro V1 and Pro V1x on the Japan Golf Tour after Chan Kim's record-setting performance last week at the Casio World Open Golf Tournament.
  • Kim, who began playing the new model just last week, has now recorded finishes of 1 and T2 since making the switch.

2023 PRO V1 & PRO V1x MOST PLAYED IN JAPAN

  • Eight players teed up the all-new Pro V1 and Pro V1x models in this week’s limited field event, making 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x the most popular Titleist ball model.
  • The total was also equal to the nearest competitor’s total number of golf balls at the season-ending event on the Japan Golf Tour.

CHINA TOUR | Mitsubishi Electric Open

Bowen Xiao (Pro V1) made four consecutive final round birdies on Nos. 14-17 to capture his second career China Tour title.

  • Xiao closed in 4-under 68 to post a 6-under victory total and win by three shots.
  • Nine out of 11 players finishing in the top 10 and ties teed up a Titleist golf ball this week at Suzhou Taihi Golf Club.

PGA TOUR LATINOAMÉRICA | 116 VISA Argentina Open presentado por Macro

Zack Fischer (Pro V1) won for the first time on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, shooting 18 under for the week to win by one shot.

  • Fischer was one of two players in the field to shoot all four rounds in the 60’s (69-66-67-68).
  • His bogey-free 4-under final round clinched the victory.

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