The 2018-2019 PGA TOUR season is in the books. In a year full of breakthrough victories and major triumphs, Titleist was once again the overwhelming golf equipment choice for more players and more champions.
The #1 Ball in Golf
This past season, 73% of players on the PGA TOUR relied on a Titleist golf ball, teeing up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x 4,276 times over the course of the season. That's more than six times the nearest competitor with 619 players (11%) and more than double all competitors combined.
During this same time, Titleist golf ball players recorded 25 victories on the PGA TOUR, more than three times the nearest competitor with 7.
Making Golf Club History
Winning every major equipment category – from golf balls to drivers, fairways and hybrids, irons, wedges and putters – is an achievement that had never been accomplished prior to the 2018-2019 season on the PGA TOUR. Titleist accomplished this historic feat for the very first time in January at the Sony Open in Hawaii, ranking in as the #1 choice among players in drivers, fairway metals, utility irons, irons, wedges and putters.
From week to week, the tournaments staged on the PGA TOUR demand so much of players – length off the tee, precision and shot-shaping, distance control, creativity and finesse – that it speaks volumes when players trust one golf brand across every major equipment category. When they have to put their livelihoods on the line, under the greatest competitive pressure in the game, the majority of players are making the same singular choice – Titleist.
This resounding vote of confidence from the world's finest players was repeated 10 more times throughout the 2018-2019 season, as Titleist swept the equipment counts at the following PGA TOUR events:
- Farmers Insurance Open
- Honda Classic
- Valspar Championship
- Corales Puntacana Championship
- Wells Fargo Championship
- AT&T Byron Nelson
- Travelers Championship
- Rocket Mortgage Classic
- 3M Open
- Wyndham Championship
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As we turn the page and welcome the new 2019-2020 PGA TOUR season, let's take a look at some highlights from the past year...
Max Homa Winner - Wells Fargo Championship: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, TS4/9.5° driver, TS3/15° fairway metal, 818H2 hybrid/19°, 718 MB (4-9) irons, Vokey Design Vokey Design SM7 pitching (46.10 F Grind), gap (50.12 F Grind), sand (54.14 F Grind) and lob (60.04 L Grind) wedges, Scotty Cameron T5W putter
• Seven first-time winners on the PGA TOUR this season relied on a Titleist golf ball in their breakthrough performances, including:
• A noteworthy trend continued throughout the 2018-2019 PGA TOUR season that saw a growing list of "free agent" players who have won all over the world using a Titleist golf ball. These players choose to play Pro V1 and Pro V1x without endorsement deals – they simply want the freedom to play the golf ball and clubs that give them the best chance of winning. Players like these have earned some of the most prestigious victories in recent memory, including the 2018 Masters and 2019 Northern Trust (Pro V1), 2018 U.S. Open (Pro V1x) and the PGA Championship (Pro V1x) in both 2018 and 2019
• Of the 25 PGA Tour victories recorded by Titleist golf ball players this season, 6 were achieved by Titleist Brand Ambassadors who also relied on full bags of Titleist golf club equipment for their success.
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C.T. Pan Winner - RBC Heritage: Titleist TS2/9.5° driver
THE NEW #1 DRIVER ON TOUR
• According to Darrell Survey, Titleist was the most played DRIVER brand on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR with a total of 1,588 (27%) drivers in play through 46 events. Titleist was the top choice in drivers at 32 of the 46 PGA TOUR events.
• Of the 1,588 Titleist drivers in play, 1,384 (87%) were either a TS2 (327/21%), TS3 (1,001/63%) or TS4 (56/4%). The remaining Titleist drivers consisted of 913D3 (8), 915D2 (3), 917D2 (187) and 917D3 (6).
• The TS3 was the overwhelming most played driver model on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR, with players gaming a TS3 model 1,001 times throughout the course of the season.
• 6 TS driver wins on 2018-19 PGA TOUR:
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Mark Hubbard Winner of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic
• Since 1990, the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly the Web.com Tour) has served as the proving ground for players hoping to earn their way onto golf's biggest stage, the PGA TOUR. Once again this year, 50 players earned PGA TOUR cards for the 2019-2020 season, and of these, an overwhelming 39 relied on a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball. Click here to meet the 39 Korn Ferry graduates who will be teeing it up on the PGA TOUR in 2020.
Justin Thomas Winner - BMW Championship:Titleist Pro V1x golf ball, TS3/9.5° driver, TS3/15° and 915Fd/18° fairway metals, T100 (4) and 718 MB (5-9) irons, Vokey Design SM6 pitching (46.10 F grind), gap (52.12 F grind), sand (56.14 F grind) and lob (60.07 K grind) wedges, Scotty Cameron Futura X5 putter
• Justin Thomas captured his tenth career PGA TOUR title, winning the BMW Championship in convincing 25-under 263 fashion after carding a final round 4-under 68 to finish three shots clear of fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Patrick Cantlay (Pro V1x, 917D2 driver, 915F fairway metal, 816H2 hybrid, 718 AP2 irons, Vokey Design SM5 gap, SM6 sand and SM7 lob wedges, Scotty Cameron GSS putter). Thomas set the Medinah No. 3 course record in the third round with a scintillating 61.
• It was a Titleist Pro V1 1-2 finish at The Northern Trust, the opening leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, where the winner, a multiple major champion who chooses to play the Titleist golf ball without an agreement, closed with a 2-under 69 to finish at 16-under 268, one shot clear of runner-up Abraham Ancer.
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• In August, we received some exciting news from the Titleist Gear Team. During practice rounds at The Northern Trust, Titleist Brand Ambassadors were spotted sporting a bold new look as they traversed the fairways at Liberty National. Their clubs and gear were stowed in the new Titleist Tour Bag, a contemporary bag with refined details and modern styling that has inspired an entire new selection of gear offerings that are coming soon – The Jet Black Collection.
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J.T. Poston Winner - Wyndham Championship: Pro V1x golf ball, TS3 (9.5°) driver, TS2 (15º)fairway metal,TS3 (21º) hybrid (depending on course), 718 T-MB (3-5) and 718 AP2 (6-9) irons, Vokey Design SM7 pitching (46.10 F grind), gap (50.08 F grind), sand (55.10 S grind) and prototype lob (60.04 L grind) wedges.
• It was a Titleist Brand Ambassador 1-2-3 finish at the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship, where Titleist Brand Ambassador J.T. Poston earned his first career PGA TOUR victory. Poston finished one shot clear of Webb Simpson and two better than Ben An and three shots clear of Viktor Hovland (Pro V1) who finished solo 4th. Closing with a career-best eight-under par 62 en route to a tournament record-tying 22-under 258 victory total, Poston became the first player since 1974 to win a 72-hole stroke-play event on tour without any bogeys or worse.
• Titleist Pro V1 player Chez Reavie won the Travelers Championship in June, marking the 100th worldwide victory this season for players trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball on the worldwide professional golf tours. Reavie’s victory continued a record of success that stretches back more than twenty years (since 1996 when we first started tracking worldwide professional tour counts and wins). In every single golf season since that time, players relying on Titleist have recorded 100 professional wins or more, an unmatched testament to the performance supremacy of Titleist golf balls and the vote of confidence given to them by the world’s finest players.
Gary Woodland Winner - The U.S. Open: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
• Playing in just his fourth event since switching back to a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, Gary Woodland fired four rounds in the 60s at Pebble Beach Golf Links, posted a 13-under-par 271 total and earned the title of "U.S. Open Champion". It was a 1-2 finish for Titleist golf ball players, as the current World No. 1 (Pro V1x) finished runner-up in his bid to defend the 2018 title.
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• In June, Titleist officially launched its new T-Series - as well as the new 620 MB and 620 CB irons - at the U.S. Open, where Charles Howell III and Cam Smith switched the first week. Since then, the T100 has quickly become one of the most played models on the PGA TOUR, with 21 players gaming a set of T100s in 2019. Titleist has been the most played iron model on the PGA TOUR for 16 of the last 17 years.
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Patrick Cantlay Winner- The Memorial Tournament: Pro V1x golf ball, 917D2 driver (9.5°), 915F fairway metal (15°) , 816H2 hybrid (21°), 718 AP2 (4-PW) irons, Vokey Design SM5 gap (54.10 S), SM6 sand (57.08 M), SM7 lob (61.08 L) wedges, Scotty Cameron GSS putter
• Beginning the day four strokes off the lead at The Memorial Tournament, Patrick Cantlay charged right out the gate, collecting five birdies on the front-nine for a 4-under-par 31. He maintained his aggressive focus after making the turn, adding three more birdies and finishing with a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64, the lowest final round by a winner in the history of the Memorial. It marked his second win on the PGA TOUR.
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Nick Watney - U510 utility iron (3)
• At this year’s Memorial Tournament, players got their first chance to experience the new Titleist TS2 and T3 hybrids and U-Series (U-500 and U-510) utility irons. Charley Hoffman (TS3 17º) and Robert Streb (TS3 21º) were among those who put TS hybrids immediately in play. Ian Poulter and Charles Howell III added new TS2 21ºmodels to their bags for the U.S. Open, while Patton Kizzire gamed a TS3 19º, as players around the world continue to switch into the new TS2 and TS3 models.
• A total of seven (7) U-500 utilities were in the bags of Ben An (2), Bud Cauley (3), Charles Howell III (4), Joost Luiten (2), Cam Smith (3), Jordan Spieth (4) and Peter Uihlein (3). Since then, U-Series have quickly become among the most played models on the PGA TOUR, with 42 players gaming U500s and seven players choosing a U510 model in 2019.
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• It was a wire-to-wire defense by the winner of the PGA Championship, who posted an 8-under-par 272 total en route to his fourth career major championship - all within the past two years and all with a Titleist Pro V1x golf ball, Vokey Design wedges and a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 SLT T10 putter. He is the first wire-to-wire winner in the PGA Championship since 1983 and he has now won four out of the last eight majors in which he’s competed.
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Patton Kizzire - TS3 hybrid (19°)
THE #1 HYBRID AND IRONS ON TOUR
• According to Darrell Survey, Titleist was the most played HYBRID brand on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR with a total of 907 (34%) hybrid clubs in play through 46 events.
• According to Darrell Survey, Titleist was once again the most played IRON brand on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR with a total of 1,632 (27%) players through 46 events. Titleist was the top choice in IRONS at 43 of the 46 PGA TOUR events.
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• It was a remarkable week for Scott Piercy at the AT&T Byron Nelson [Pro V1 golf ball, TS4 driver (8.5°) , 816 H1 hybrid (21°), 718 AP2 4-iron, 680 (5-9) irons, Vokey Design SM6 gap (52°), sand (56°) and prototype lob (62°) wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo putter]. Trusting Titleist from tee-through-green, Piercy went all 72 holes without making a single bogey. The feat is so rare, that Piercy became the first player to do so at a PGA Tour event since Charles Howell III at The Greenbrier in 2010.
• C.T. Pan (New Pro V1x, TS2/9.5° driver) earned his first career PGA TOUR title with a come-from-behind victory at the RBC Heritage. Pan is now just the second golfer from Taiwan to win a PGA Tour title, following Chen Tze-chung (T.C. Chen), who won the Los Angeles Open in 1987.
• Corey Conners claimed his first PGA Tour title - and his first as a professional - at the Valero Texas Open. Conners was the last player to round out the Valero Texas Open field, earning his spot in a 6-for-1 playoff in Monday qualifying. He is only the fifth player in PGA Tour history to win a tournament after gaining a position through Monday qualifying and the first since Monday-qualifier Arjun Atwal raised the trophy at the 2010 Wyndham Championship.
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Ian Poulter - Vokey SM7 gap (52.12 F Grind), sand (56.14. F grind) and lob (60.04 L Grind) wedges
THE #1 WEDGE ON TOUR
• According to Darrell Survey, Titleist was the overwhelming #1 WEDGE brand on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR with a total of 7,829 (49%) Vokey Design wedges in players' bags through 46 events. That's more than thre times the nearest competitor with 16%. Titleist Vokey Design wedges were most played at every event on the 2018-2019 PGA TOUR schedule.
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• Kevin Kisner (Pro V1) claimed his first World Golf Championships title after posting a 3 & 2 victory in the final of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Kisner, who finished runner-up in an all-Titleist championship match with Bubba Watson (New 2019 Pro V1x Yellow) in this event last year, won six straight matches after losing his first.
Bubba Watson - Pro V1x Yellow
• Pro V1x loyalist Bubba Watson made a splash at the WM Open in Phoenix, becoming the first player to put a new Pro V1x YELLOW golf ball in play on Tour. The results? Several drives over 340 yards in length (including driving the green at the par-4 17th hole) and debut round of 5-under-par 66. New high optic Yellow Pro V1 and Pro V1x hit pro shop shelves for the first time ever in mid-March, offering golfers an additional preference option.
• At the final event on the PGA TOUR’s 2018 calendar, good friends and fellow Titleist Brand Ambassadors Brian Harman and Patton Kizzire captured the QBE Shootout, trusting Titleist golf clubs tee-to-green and the new 2019 Pro V1 and 2019 Pro V1x, respectively.
Charles Howell III Winner -RSM Classic: New 2019 Pro V1, TS3 driver (10.5°), TS2 fairway metals (15°, 21°), 718 T-MB (4), 718 AP2 (5-6) and 718 CB (8-PW) irons, Vokey Design SM7 gap (52.08 F-grind), sand (56.08 M-grind) and lob (60.08 M-grind) wedges.
• In November, longtime Titleist golf ball loyalist Charles Howell III ended an 11-year victory drought by winning the RSM Classic, notching the first win on the PGA Tour by a player trusting the New 2019 Pro V1 golf ball. Howell, who was playing the New 2019 Pro V1 for the first time in competition, also relied on 13 Titleist golf clubs, including the new TS3 driver and two TS2 fairway metals. Despite cold and windy conditions in Round 1, Howell got off to a blazing start, firing an 6-under-par 64 on St. Simons Island. The Georgia native hit all 14 fairways and all 18 greens with his new Titleist equipment, to establish a lead he would maintain all the way into play on Sunday.
• The new 2019 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls debuted on TOUR at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Novemember. Introducing new generations of Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls in Las Vegas has become a tradition at Titleist, following the runaway sucess of the very first Pro V1 at the 2000 Invensys Classic (the name of the Las Vegas TOUR stop at the time). Forty-seven players a that tournament, including the eventual winner, switched to a Pro V1 the first week they could play it in competition. In the eighteen years that have followed, Pro V1 and Pro V1x have remained the best-performing and most trusted golf balls on the TOUR, around the world of professional golf and among amateur golfers of all abilities.
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2018-2019 PGA TOUR - SOME INTERESTING STATS
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Below, check out all of the Titleist wins on the 2018-2019 PGA TOUR and congratulations again to all of #TeamTitleist for an amazing season!
#TeamTitleist