Golfers trusting their games to Titleist golf balls continue to triumph around the globe, as four more players on the Worldwide Professional Golf Tours entered the winner's circle this weekend. Headlining the action, Jin Young Ko captured the first major title with the New 2019 Pro V1, demonstrating poise and total command of her game as she took the plunge into Poppy's Pond at the ANA Inspiration.
On the PGA Tour, Corey Conners punched the final ticket into the 87-man field at this week's Masters. In winning the Valero Texas Open, Conners became just the fifth player in history to Monday-qualify and go on to win a PGA Tour event.
With additional victories on the Asian and South African tours, players trusting their games to a Titleist golf ball have now collected 45 wins across the worldwide professional tours. That's more than four times the nearest competing brand with just 11 and more than all competing brands combined.
Let’s take a closer look at this past week’s Titleist tour highlights…
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Jin Young Ko | New 2019 Pro V1 - ANA Inspiration
Titleist golf ball loyalist Jin Young Ko won the ANA Inspiration for her first major title and her second victory in three weeks. Her victory marks the first major title won with the New 2019 Pro V1 golf ball.
Ko closed with a 2-under-par 70 en route to a 10-under 278 victory total, three shots clear of her nearest competitor. The win was the fourth of Ko’s LPGA Tour career
The 23-year old won the Founders Cup in Phoenix two weeks ago. She tops the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year.
“I cried little bit on the walk past the fans,” Ko said of her walk back to 18th green at Mission Hills (in preparation for the traditional victory leap into Poppy’s Pond). “I still can’t believe it. I just try focus on my game and play the course. The Rolex World Ranking doesn’t matter to me. My goal is just to be the happiest player on the golf course. Today, this week, I’m really happy.”
Ko’s victory marks the seventh consecutive women’s major championship won with a Titleist golf ball dating back to 2017.
Last year, Titleist golf ball loyalists swept all five women’s and all four men’s major championships. Titleist players have now won six of the first eight events on the 2019 LPGA Tour schedule.
Titleist topped the golf ball count with 78% of the field (87 players) trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than nine times the nearest competitor with 8% (9 players).
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Corey Conners | Pro V1 - Valero Texas Open
“I told myself I could do it. I had a lot of confidence in my game and I wasn’t worried about what was going on around me. No more Monday qualifying. Amazing. It’s a dream come true.”
This is how Canada’s Corey Conners summed up his performance in San Antonio after he claimed his first PGA Tour title - and his first as a professional - at the Valero Texas Open.
Starting the final round one shot behind the overnight leader, Conners closed with a 6-under-par 66 en route to a 20-under 268 victory total, two shots clear of fellow Pro V1 loyalist and Titleist Brand Ambassador Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, TS3 driver, TS3 fairway metal, 818H2 and 913Hd hybrids, 718 AP2 and 714 MB irons, Vokey Design SM7 pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 putter). Conners’ scorecard included 10 birdies (including four of the first five holes), four pars and four bogeys (four in a row to finish the front nine). He made six birdies on the final nine for a closing 30.
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.
The victory also earned Conners the final invitation to this week’s Masters Tournament. This will mark Conners’ second Masters appearance, having earned an invitation in 2015 following his runner-up finish at the 2014 U.S. Amateur.
Ryan Moore (New Pro V1) closed with an 8-under-par 64, one shot off the course record, and finished solo third at 17-under.
In fact, 10 of the 13 players who finished among the top 10 and ties relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
Of the 144 players who competed at the Valero Texas Open, 76% (109 players) trusted a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for their success, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 10% (14 players). The New Titleist Pro V1x was the most popular golf ball model among players with 24 in play.
For the 13th event out of the 16 played on the PGA Tour since the calendar turned to 2019, Titleist has been the top driver choice of more players than any other . In San Antonio, there were 44 Titleist drivers in play, 10 more than the nearest competitor. Of those Titleist drivers, 28 were TS models (TS2 - 9 | TS3 - 28 | TS4 - 2).
The Titleist TS4 driver was introduced to players at the Valero Texas Open on Monday. The lowest spinning model in the TS line was tested and put into play by Titleist Brand Ambassadors Max Homa and Adam Svensson. Both players finished T-42 (-5), with Homa ranking 3rd in Driving Distance at 317.7 yards.
“Max (Homa) immediately liked the size and shape of the TS4 (9.5),” said Titleist Tour Rep Larry Silveira, “and his high launch and high club speed made him a perfect candidate for this driver. After nine holes of his first practice round, Max let us know that the spin reduction was very positive and he would be putting in play.”
“Adam (Svensson),” Silveira added, “tested the new TS4 against his TS3 (8.5) driver, and on TrackMan, we saw increases in both ball speed and in total distance due to the reduction of 200-300 RPM. Adam loved the look and shape of the TS4 and put it in the bag immediately.”
Titleist was also the #1 choice among players in hybrids (20) and irons (40). Vokey Design Wedges topped the approach, sand and lob wedge category with 197 Vokey models in play and Scotty Cameron was the top choice among players in the putter category (55).
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Congratulations to all of #TeamTitleist!
Click here for a listing of all Titleist golf ball wins this season.