Arron Oberholser Captures First PGA TOUR Crown Trusting Titleist from Tee-to-Green
It was a dream fulfilled for Titleist ambassador Arron Oberholser who captured his first career PGA Tour title at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Playing on the fabled course he calls home, Oberholser trusted Titleist equipment from tee-to-green, including the Pro V1 golf ball and new Pro Titanium 905R 460cc driver. Oberholser shot a final round even-par 72 en route to a 17-under 271 total. His five-shot win matched the largest margin of victory in the 77-year history of the tournament.
– Titleist was the golf ball choice of 133 players at the event, over 110 more or seven times the nearest competitor with 19. In the celebrity/amateur division, 135 players or three-quarters of the field relied upon Titleist golf balls, compared to 34 for the nearest competitor.
– Oberholser topped a leaderboard that featured eight Titleist golf ball players who finished among the top 10 and ties, including Jonathan Byrd (T3), Mike Weir (T3), Craig Barlow (T5), Daniel Chopra (T5), Luke Donald (T7), Vijay Singh (T7) and Nick Watney (T7).
– Titleist was also the most played brand in the iron (44 vs. 38), wedge (139 vs. 94) and putter (70 vs. 28) categories; was second in the driver category with 50 players, 32 more than the next closest competitor with 18; and third in the fairway metal category with a season-high 52 in play, just four shy of the number two position.
– Oberholser becomes the first player to win on the PGA Tour with the new Titleist Pro Titanium 905R driver (9.5). In fact, he finished among the Top 10 for the week in Driving Accuracy, finding the fairway 80% of the time off the tee. The Pro Titanium 905R driver has gained popularity and found success both on the PGA Tour and across the worldwide professional tours, including a victory earlier this year by Ernie Els at the PGA European Tour’s dunhill Championship.
– At the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, 25 of the 50 players who relied upon Titleist Pro Titanium drivers, opted for the new 905R model, making it the most played 460cc driver in the field.
– Also in Oberholser’s bag: Prototype fairway metal (15.0) and Forged 700 Series prototype irons (3-P). Oberholser tied for first in Sand Saves carrying Vokey Design sand (54) and lob (60) wedges, and ranked first in the field in Putts Per Green in Regulation (1.522) and Putts Per Round (25.8) with his Scotty Cameron by Titleist Futura putter. Four of the top six finishers also trusted Scotty Cameron putters.
– Oberholser becomes the second consecutive first-time winner on the PGA TOUR, joining Titleist Pro V1x player J.B. Holmes, who won the FBR Open by seven strokes last week.
– Titleist Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Luke Donald had the longest birdie-eagle streak of the season when he went B-B-B-E-B on Nos. 11-15 at Spyglass Hill in the first round. He tied the course record with a career-best 10-under-par 62.
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR: In Perth, Australia, Kevin Stadler (Pro V1x) posted an eagle on the final hole for the third consecutive day to win the Johnnie Walker Classic by two shots over Australia’s Nick O’Hern (Pro V1). Stadler fired a final round 3-under 69 for a 20-under 268 total to earn the biggest victory of his professional career. The event was sanctioned by the PGA European, Australasian and Asian Tours.
Kevin Stadler
– Stadler, playing on a sponsor’s exemption as he prepared for next week’s Nationwide Tour event at the Jacob’s Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, had previously won the Argentine Open in December and two Nationwide Tour events in 2004. The victory earns him a full exemption on the 2006 PGA European Tour. He also is exempt on the Nationwide Tour.
– Needing a birdie to avoid a playoff, Stadler made a three-iron approach from 200 yards which dramatically rolled to within a foot of the hole. Stadler shared the lead on the opening day and then led throughout.
– Titleist was the golf ball of choice for 121 of the 156 players in the field (78%), more than eight times the nearest competitor with 14.
WORLDWIDE WINS: Two more victories this week advances Titleist’s worldwide golf ball win count to 15, five times more than the nearest competitor with 3.
DIRECT FROM THE TOUR: To view exclusive round-by-round interviews with champion Arron Oberholser from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and from Titleist players at every PGA Tour event, please visit our Direct from the Tour feature online at: http://titleist.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1
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Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra comprise the major golf brands of the Acushnet Company, an operating company of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE – FO). Titleist, FootJoy, Cobra, Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R, Pro Trajectory, Vokey Design, Scotty Cameron by Titleist and Futura are trademarks owned by Acushnet Company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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