Titleist golf ball loyalist Pat Perez (Pro V1) will always have a soft spot in his heart for this week's PGA Tour stop, the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. It was at last year's tournament that Perez rejuvenated his career, firing rounds of 68-66-62-67 to win the event (the second of his career his first since 2009) and jump start a season that saw him climb from No. 271 in the official world golf rankings to No. 18 in the world.
Perez played in his first TOUR Championship in 2017 and won again just a few weeks ago at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
“I was just fighting to get my job back," Perez said of the turn-around, "but I had a whole different outlook at life after being gone for a little bit." (The OHL was just his third start after eight months off following shoulder surgery).
"I have a lot of friends out here, I root for them all and I've got a hell of a support group at home. Over my 16-year career I've always been worried, what's that guy going to say, what's he going to think. I don't care about any of that anymore, I just don't. I'm just excited about playing well again and I’m just trying to enjoy the ride.”
As Perez gets ready for his title defense, the action will again take place on the par-71, 7,039-yard layout at El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba Resort, challenging players with three distinct landscapes - mangrove jungles, limestone canals and postcard stretches of oceanfront sand.
The signature hole at El Camaleón is the 155-yard, par-3 15th, which runs alongside the Caribbean, but the course's most interesting hole might be No. 7, which incorporates a cenote, a massive underground cavern, in the heart of the opening fairway.
Good luck this week in Mexico, Pat! And good luck to all of #Team Titleist!
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TITLEIST BY THE NUMBERS
This week at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Titleist is once again the overwhelming golf ball choice, with 99 players trusting a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 12 and more than all competitors combined.*
Titleist was also the top choice among players in the hybrids category (21) as well as the irons category with 37 sets in play. Vokey Design Wedges also topped the approach, sand and lob wedge (167) category and Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice among players with 52 putters in play.*
*Equipment counts provided by Darell Survey
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FAST FACTS:
- At last year's OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Pat Perez matched the 72-hole tournament record with his 21-under-par 263 total. Perez had six top-10 finishes in the 2016-17 season, four of which were top-five showings.
- 2014 OHL Classic champion, Titleist Brand Amabassador Charley Hoffman (Pro V1), will be making his sixth appearance at this event. At last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T18), the UNLV grad donated his entire paycheck ($98,600) to relief efforts for the Las Vegas Oct 1 shootings.
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Chesson Hadley (Pro V1x) is off to a remarkable start in the 2017-2018 season. Hadley, who finished No.1 on last year's Web.com Tour money list to earn his Tour card this season, finished T3/Safeway Open, 2nd/Sanderson Farms Championship and T4/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is his first three starts thus far.
There are five Mexican players in the Mayakoba field this week, all of whom trust their games to Titleist golf balls:
- Carlos Ortiz (Pro V1x), a three-time winner and Player of the Year on the Web.com Tour
in 2014, will make his fourth career start at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. In 24 starts on the Web.com Tour in 2017, he collected two top-10 finishes.
- Roberto Diaz (Pro V1x) is a Veracruz native and will be making his ninth career start on the PGA
Tour. On the Web.com Tour last year, he claimed a second- and third-place showing.
- Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (Pro V1x) - The Irapuato, Mexico native will be making his eighth start on the PGA Tour and seventh in the OHL Classic at Mexico. En route to winning the money title on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2017, he collected victories at the 70 Avianca Colombia Open and Abierto del Paraguay-Copa NEC.
- Oscar Fraustro (Pro V1x) will be making his sixth consecutive start in this week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba, where he has collected two top-15 finishes (T13/2016, T9/2014). In six starts on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2017, the Mexico City native won in a playoff victory at the San Luis Championship, finished T2 a week later at the Abierto de Brasil and finished T8 at the Lexus Peru Open a week later.
- Abraham Ancer (Pro V1x) was born in McAllen, Texas, but he was raised in Reynosa, Mexico, Ancer will be making his third consecutive start in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. On last year’s Web.com Tour, he collected seven top-10 finishes in 24 starts en route to asixth-place finish on the Web.com Tour priority list.
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SOCIAL BUZZ:
Welcome to El Camaleon Golf Club at the Mayakoba Resort, host of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba! The cenote on No.7 is a serious hazard you won't find on any other courses we've heard of.
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Titleist Brand Ambassador Patton Kizzire (Pro V1x) grabbed the lead after Round 1 with a sizzling 62.
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Titleist golf ball loyalist Rickie Fowler (Pro V1) is also right in the mix after an opening round 65.
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Titleist Brand Ambassador Ben Martin (Pro V1) from way behind the 3-point stripe.
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A perfect meeting of land and sea.
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Titleist golf ball loyalist J.J. Henry (Pro V1) found the perfect way to unwind after a day at the office.
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The weather took a turn on Friday, suspending play. Let's hope it blows over quickly and sets the stage for an exciting finish this weekend!
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As we say good-bye from Mexico, her's one last look at the one bunker players don't want to be in this week. Good luck to all of #TeamTitleist!
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