Many of the worldwide professional tours were on holiday last week, but the winning ways rolled on around the globe for Titleist, as players trusting their games to Titleist golf balls notched victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours.
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
• Playing in just his fourth PGA TOUR event, this year's winner of the NCAA Men's Division 1 Individual Title captured his first professional victory, relying on a Pro V1 golf ball to win the inaugural 3M Open in Minnesota. He becomes just the third player in history to win the NCAA Individual crown and a PGA TOUR event in the same year.
• In neighboring Wisconsin, it was a Titleist 1-2 finish at the Thornbery Creek LPGA Classic, as Shanshan Feng posted the second-lowest score in LPGA Tour history, edging fellow Pro V1x player Ariya Jutanugarn by one shot to earn the tenth victory of her career.
All told, players trusting their games to a Titleist golf ball have now collected 108 wins across the worldwide professional tours. That's more than five times the nearest competing brand with just 20 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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It was a dramatic finish at the inaugural 3M Open where the winner - relying upon a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball - converted a 26-foot putt for eagle on the final hole en route to his first victory as a professional in just his fourth PGA TOUR start.
With his total score of 21-under-par 263, the 20-year-old finished one shot clear of two players, including another newly turned professional from Cal who chose to play the Titleist Pro V1x golf ball and three Vokey Design SM7 wedges.
The champion secured his PGA TOUR card just six weeks after winning the NCAA individual title with Oklahoma State University. Heading into the final round at TPC Twin Cities, he texted his former coach, saying:
“Winning is no different on any level. It’s a bout being in that moment. It’s about handling it. Staying calm, staying present. And he shared a little stat - ’In the last 6 months you’ve probably won more than any single person in this field.’ That hit with me. I know how to win. I know how to seal the deal. I live for moments like the putt on 18 or those clutch moments when you have to step up and I did.
I knew as soon as I left college that I’m out here with the best players in the world and I have to prove myself and I did that and it just feels nice.”
The winner’s Oklahoma State teammate-turned-fellow professional Viktor Hovland (Pro V1) made his third consecutive cut, finishing in a tie for 13th for the second week in a row.
Hovland, the low amateur at the 2019 U.S. Open and Masters and the 2018 U.S. Amateur champion, turned professional at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago, finishing T-54.
Last week, at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Hovland closed with a final round 8-under 64, posting a share of the low round of the day.
Eight of the 12 players who finished among the top 10 and ties at the 3M Open trusted Titleist golf balls for their success, including Carlos Ortiz (Pro V1x) and Wyndham Clark (Pro V1) who tied for 5th.
Lucas Glover (Pro V1x) finished in a six-way tie for 7th place, racing up the leaderboard with a Sunday-best 9-under par 62, marking his fifth top-10 finish of the season.
11 of 12: Titleist golf ball players have won 19 events on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR, including 11 of the last 12. The 19 Titleist golf ball victories are more than three times the nearest competitor (6) and as many as all other golf balls combined.
#1 Ball
Titleist was once again the most popular golf ball choice among players at the 3M Open,with 77% of players (120) in the 156-man field trusting a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, over seven times more than the nearest competitor with 16 players (10%) and more than all other competitor brand golf balls combined.
Back-to-Back Clean Sweep
According to Darrell Survey, for the third consecutive week on the PGA TOUR, Titleist was the top choice of more players across every single category. It is an achievement that had never been accomplished prior to this season, now Titleist has accomplished it 10 times since the calendar turned 2019!
For the 23rd time this season, continuing a trend of player trust and validation, Titleist was the #1 choice in the driver category at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, with 47 Titleist models in play. Of those Titleist drivers, 42 were TS models (TS2 - 9 | TS3 - 29 | TS4 - 4).
Titleist was also the #1 choice among players in fairway metals (64), hybrids (28), utility irons (26), irons(45), wedges (218) and putters (54).
The other tournaments in which Titleist has topped every major equipment category include: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Travelers Championship, AT&T Byron Nelson, Wells Fargo Championship, Corales Puntacana Championship, Valspar Championship, Honda Classic, Farmers Insurance Open and Sony Open in Hawaii.
Not only did Titleist equipment top the field in every category overall, some of its newest additions to the product line also were among the most played individual models in several categories versus all brands and all models.
The Pro V1x was the most played golf ball with 41; the TS3 was the most played driver with 29; the top two fairway metals in play were the TS3 with 29, followed by the TS2 with 21; and the new U-500 was the most played utility iron with 15.
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Shanshan Feng | Pro V1x - Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
Shanshan Feng captured her 10th career LPGA Tour title with a one shot win at the Thornberry Creek Classic.
It marked her first victory since November 2017 when she won the Blue Bay LPGA to become the first golfer from China, male or female, to reach No. 1 in the World Ranking.
Feng birdied the final hole to top fellow Titleist Pro V1x player Ariya Jutanugarn by one shot.
In fact, Feng topped a leaderboard on which each of the top five finishers trusted Titleist golf balls for their success.
Amy Yang and Tiffany Joh tied for 3rd playing the Pro V1x, while Hyo Joo Kim placed solo 5th relying upon the Pro V1.
Feng's four-round total of 29-under was the second-lowest 72-hole score in relation to par in LPGA history.
She hit every green in regulation en route to a nine-under 63.
The win was the 12th for Titleist players on the 2019 LPGA Tour, four times the nearest competitor with 3.
Titleist was the top choice in golf balls at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic with 82% of the field of 140 (115 players) relying on a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than fourteen times the nearest competitor with 6% (8 players).
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Congratulations to all of #TeamTitleist!
Click here for a listing of all Titleist golf ball wins this season.