2018 has been a season of remarkable success for Titleist golf ball players and this week the win total continues to climb to new heights as three players stepped into the winner's circle in Australia, Thailand and Japan.
All told, players trusting their games to a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball have now accumulated 207 wins across the worldwide professional tours during the 2018 season. That's more six times more wins than the nearest competing brand with just 33 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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Cameron Smith | New 2019 Pro V1x - Australian PGA Championship
At the Australian PGA Championship, Australia's Cameron Smith became the first player to win on the European Tour with the new 2019 Pro V1x golf ball. Smith, the defending champion of the Australian major, also relied on a new TS2 driver and TS2 fairway metal to post a 16-under-par winning total, two shots clear of his nearest rival. In fact, the 23-year-old relied on Titleist clubs tee-to-green in the winning effort, inlcuding 718 T-MB and 718 AP2 irons, Vokey SM7 wedges and a Scotty Cameron Futura 5W putter.
Jake McLeod
The Australian PGA Championship is co-sanctioned with the Australasian Tour, and serves as the season finale for that tour. Jake McLeod (Pro V1x, TS3 driver and fairway metal, T-MB 2-iron, 718 AP2 irons, Vokey Design SM7 wedges) won the Order of Merit and earned a European Tour Card for the 2019 season.
McLeod secured his first professional win at the NSW Open three weeks ago and followed that up by finishing third at the Australian Open, securing a spot at The Open Championship in the process. In the span of four weeks he’s risen from No. 437 in the Official World Golf Rankings to just outside the top-100.
Titleist was the golf ball of choice at the Australian PGA Championship, with 81% of players (126 players in the field of 156) relying on a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than twelve times the nearest competitor with 6% (10 players) and more than all competitors combined.
Titleist was also the overwhelming field favorite in the driver category with 69 (58%) in play, nearly twice the nearest competitor with 36, and more than all other drivers combined.
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Miguel Tabuena| Pro V1 - Queen's Cup
In Bangkok, Miguel Tabuena captured his second career Asian Tour title, relying on the Pro V1 golf ball to win the Queen's Cup. The 24-year-old closed with a 4-under-par 66 to finish with a 20-under-par total of 260 and a three-shot margin of victory over Johannes Veerman (Pro V1x). Tabuena's first victory came at the 2015 Philippine Open.
Tabuena topped a leaderboard on which eight of the top 10 finishers trusted Titleist golf balls for their success, including each of the top four.
Titleist topped the Queen's Cup field in golf balls (66%), irons (21%) and wedges (34%).
The champion also relied upon a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter for his on-the-green success.
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Satoshi Kodaira | Pro V1x - Golf Nippon Series JT Cup
Satoshi Kodaira (Pro V1x), who started the final round of the Japan Series JT Cup four strokes behind the overnight leader, fired the best score of the day at 6-under-par 64, en route to an 8-under-par total and a spot in the eventual three-way playoff.
The 29-year old parred the first extra hole to capture the season-ending event.
Also competing in the playoff was Jung-Gon Hwang, who relied upon the New 2019 Pro V1x golf ball, which was the choice of two of the previous three winners on the JGTO.
The win is Kodaira’s first of the JGTO season and his first since winning the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage earlier in the year. It marked his seventh career win on the Japan Golf Tour.
Shugo Imahira
Shugo Imahira (Pro V1x), who finished T8 for the week, topped the 2018 Japan Golf Tour money list for the first time in his career.
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Congratulations to all of #TeamTitleist!
Click here for a listing of all Titleist golf ball wins this season.