What an exciting prelude to U.S. Open week! Over the weekend, we saw Titleist players capture eight professional victories around the globe, at events ranging from Mexico to British Columbia, Thailand to Iowa and Austria to New Jersey.
Two players won for the first time last week, two more triumphed in match play format and several seasoned veterans proved that winning never gets old.
We haven't even reached the midway point yet in the 2018 season, but all told, players trusting their games to Titleist have now accumulated 100 wins across the worldwide professional golf tours. Making that century mark figure even more impressive is the fact that it's more than seven times the nearest competing brand with just 14 wins.
This record of success is something we’re extremely proud of. And grateful for. All of our team members work very hard to make sure that every player who tees up a Titleist golf ball has absolute confidence that it is the very best. To all the players who give us this vote of confidence, whether you're a professional or a weekend warrior, thank you from everyone at Titleist.
Congratulations to all of our winners! Let’s take a look at this past week’s Titleist tour highlights…
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Headlining the action this week, Mikko Korhonen (Pro V1x) ran away with the inaugural Shot Clock Masters by six strokes for his first European Tour title. Owning a five-stroke lead going into the final round, Korhonen shot a 69 to finish 16-under-par overall.
Connor Syme (Pro V1), who turned professional last September, holed a 60-foot birdie putt on the final hole to post a runner-up finish, one shot better than four players, including Justin Walters (Pro V1).
The event was the first of its kind on the European Tour, utilizing a 40-second shot clock for most strokes.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Shot Clock Masters with 89 players trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, more than six times the nearest competitor with 14.
Korhonen’s winning performance marked the 17th victory for Titleist golf ball players through the first 21 European Tour events this season, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 2.
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Annie Park (Pro V1), the No. 236 player in the world and without full status on the LPGA Tour, captured the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her first career victory.
In just her fifth start of the season, the 23-year-old fired three consecutive rounds in the 60’s (69-65-63), including a closing 8-under-par 63 en route to a 16-under 197 victory total. She made six birdies and an eagle over her first 14 holes on Sunday and parred in for the one-shot win.
Park’s previous best performance on the LPGA Tour was a T6 at the ShopRite Classic as a rookie in 2016.
Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at the event with 116 players trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, nearly 13 times the nearest competitor with 9.
Park’s winning performance marked the 11th victory for Titleist golf ball players through the first 14 LPGA Tour events this season, more than five times the nearest competitor with 2.
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Second-round leader Tom Lehman (Pro V1) was declared the winner of the Principal Charity Classic after weather washed out Sunday's final round. Officials had delayed the start of the third round by nearly five hours before calling the event.
Lehman fired a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead over four players, including Bernhard Langer (Pro V1), Woody Austin (Pro V1x) and Scott Parel (Pro V1x).
Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at the Principal Charity Classic with 61 players trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, nearly seven times the nearest competitor with 9
The win marks the 8th of the season for Titleist golf ball players on the PGA TOUR Champions, twice the nearest competitor with 4.
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It was an all-Titleist affair at the Sun City Challenge where Neil Schietekat (Pro V1) carded a final round 5-under-par 67 en route to a 6-under 210 victory total.
Schietekat finished one shot clear of Louis De Jager (Pro V1), while Jbe Kruger (Pro V1) claimed solo 3rd and Ulrich van den Berg (Pro V1) and Ockie Strydom (Pro V1) placed 4th and 5th, respectively.
The win marks the second Sunshine Tour title for Schietekat, whose first win came at the 2013 Platinum Classic.
Titleist was the overwhelming most relied upon golf ball in the limited field of 108 with 93 players trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 13.
Let’s take a closer look at the Titleist equipment that Neil had in the bag in South Africa.
Golf Ball: Pro V1
Driver: 917D2 (8.5º)
Fairway: 917F2 (15º)
Irons: 718 CB (4-PW)
Wedges: Vokey Design SM7 gap (52.10 F Grind), sand (56.10 S grind) and lob (60.06 K Grind)
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Charlie Saxon (Pro V1) fired four consecutive rounds in the 60’s, including a closing 3-under-par 69, to capture the Guilin Championship. Saxon posted an 18-under 270 victory total to win by one shot. It marked his 4th career PGA TOUR China Series title.
Saxon started the final round one shot behind Jin Zhang (Pro V1x), who finished as the runner-up. Justin Shin (Pro V1) finished another shot back as Titleist golf ball loyalists posted a 1-2-3 finish.
In fact, 8 of the top 10 finishers trusted Titleist golf balls for their success.
Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at the Guilin Championship with 117 players relying on a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 14.
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MeenWhee Kim (Pro V1x) made a par putt on the 18th hole to top Jeong Hyeob Hyun (Pro V1) 1-up in the championship match of the 64-player Munsingwear Matchplay.
The win was the second of Kim’s KPGA Tour career.
Hyung Joon Lee (Pro V1x), who won the event in 2015, shared 3rd place.
Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at the event with 49 players relying on a Pro V1 or Pro V1x, seven times the nearest competitor with 7.
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Congratulations to all of #TeamTitleist!
Click here for a listing of all Titleist golf ball wins this season.