Fairhaven, MA (January 16, 2006) – It was a weekend to remember at the Sony Open in Hawaii for David Toms. First, he put himself in position on Saturday when he surged to a tie for the lead with a personal-best and new course record 9-under-par 61. He followed his record-breaking performance with a final round 5-under 65 to capture the first full-field PGA TOUR event of 2006 by five strokes. His 19-under 261 total was one shot shy of the tournament record. It was the 12th career crown for Toms, including the fourth consecutive year in which he won at least one tournament.
Toms, who trusts his game to the Pro V1 golf ball, topped a leaderboard that included five Titleist players among the top six finishers, including rookies Bubba Watson (4th/Pro V1x) and Nathan Green (5th/Pro V1) and defending champion Vijay Singh (6th/Pro V1x).
Toms and Pro V1x player Jerry Kelly, who finished T13, were the only two players to post all four rounds in the 60s.
Of the 20 rookies in the field, 10 made the cut, led by Watson, Green and J.B Holmes (T10/Pro V1x). Watson, who led the Nationwide Tour in Driving Distance last year with a 334 yard average, topped the Sony Open field with 347.5 yards per drive. Holmes earned his PGA TOUR Card by winning medalist honors at the PGA TOUR Qualifying event.
Titleist players accounted for 74% of the golf ball count (107) in the 144-player Sony Open field. Titleist was also the most played brand in the iron (32), utility iron (6), wedge (111) and putter (53) categories, was second in drivers (38) and third in fairway metals (24).
Half of Titleist’s driver count of 38 consisted of Pro Titanium 905R 460cc prototype players, including Adam Scott who finished 2nd in Driving Distance at 317.9 yards. Scott finished T14 in Driving Accuracy and T18 for the tournament. He played his first competitive event with the new Titleist Forged 695MB prototype irons, as well, and finished T7 in Greens in Regulation.
The tournament-leading Titleist iron count of 32, included seven players who carried Forged 695MB and seven players who carried the Forged 695CB prototype irons.
Titleist topped the sand, lob and approach wedge count with a total of 111 in play, an overwhelming 47 more than the nearest competitor. Overall, the field carried 144 Titleist branded wedges, compared to 85 by the nearest competitor.
The Scotty Cameron putter count of 53 was more than double the nearest competitor of 21, and included five Circa 62 and six Xperimental prototype models, including one player who tied for 2nd.
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