Fairhaven, MA (May 15, 2006) – Week in and week out, more players trust the superior performance of Titleist golf balls for their success. This week was no exception as Brett Wetterich rallied from three shots back with nine holes to play to capture the EDS Byron Nelson Championship by one shot for his first career PGA Tour title. Wetterich, who relies upon the Pro V1x golf ball, closed with a final round 2-under 68 to finish at 12-under 268.
Titleist ambassador Adam Scott (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R driver, Titleist prototype 3- and 5-woods, Forged 695MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled Sand and Lob wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) and Omar Uresti (Pro V1) tied for third, two strokes behind Wetterich at 270.
Luke Donald (Pro V1x) tied for sixth, while full-line Titleist staff players Jason Bohn (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R driver, Pro Trajectory 904F 3-wood, Forged 670 irons, Vokey Design Sand and Lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Xperimental C5 putter), Dudley Hart (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R driver, Titleist prototype 3-wood, Forged 695MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled Sand and Lob wedges, Scotty Cameron prototype putter) and Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905R, Titleist prototype 3-wood, Forged 680 irons, Vokey Design Pitching, Sand and Lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Red X putter), as well as Rodney Pampling (Pro V1x) were among five players tied for eighth.
– The victory was the 9th for Titleist golf ball players on the 2006 PGA Tour.
– Overall, Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Byron Nelson Championship by an overwhelming 109 (71%) to 12 margin, more than nine times the nearest competitor.
– Eight of the 12 finishers who placed among the Top 10 and ties trusted Titleist.
– Titleist was also the choice of more players than any other brand in the iron (36), wedge (126) and putter (64) categories.
– Titleist Pro Titanium drivers were a strong second in the field with 44 in play, more than three times the next competitor with 12. Titleist fairway metals were also a solid second with 46 in play.
– Titleist Pro Titanium drivers were the choice of 7 players who finished among the Top 10 and ties, including the champion, both third place finishers and the sixth-place finisher. Titleist fairway metals were in the bags of 6 of the Top 10, including the champion and both third place finishers.
– The champion, relying upon the Titleist Pro Titanium 905T driver, finished among the Top 10 in both Driving Accuracy (T8/64.3) and Driving Distance (9th/305.6) en route to his breakthrough victory.
– The winner also trusted a Scotty Cameron by Titleist putter for his success, marking the PGA Tour-leading 10th victory this season by a player relying on a Scotty Cameron putter, more than three times the nearest competitor with 3. In fact, 8 of the Top 10 finishers and ties placed their confidence in Scotty Cameron by Titleist putters.
On Friday, Titleist full-line staff player Arron Oberholser (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905R driver, Titleist prototype 3-wood, Forged 700 Series prototype irons, Vokey Design Sand and Lob wedges, Scotty Cameron by Titleist Futura putter) broke the Cottonwood Valley course record of 61 with a 10-under 60. Oberholser, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February, has made 11 consecutive cuts this season and 12 overall dating back to 2005.
In addition to Wetterich’s success on the PGA Tour, Titleist players were also winning the world over. Additional victories on the PGA European, Champions, Nationwide, Canadian and Asian Tours advanced Titleist’s 2006 golf ball win count to 58, more than five times the nearest competitor with 11.
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR: Titleist Pro V1x player Johan Edfors became the first two-time PGA European Tour champion in 2006, capturing the British Masters after closing with a final round 2-under 70 en route to an 11-under 277. He claimed his first tour win in March at the TCL Classic. Edfors edged three players by one shot, including Gary Emerson (Pro V1), who made a Sunday charge with a final round 5-under 67, and Jarmo Sandelin (Pro V1x).
Titleist golf ball players accounted for more than 77 percent of the field at the British Masters with 121, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 16. The victory is the 14th by a Titleist golf ball player through the first 20 events on the 2006 PGA European Tour, more than four times the nearest competitor with 3.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Titleist Pro V1x player Bobby Wadkins posted a wire-to-wire one-shot victory at the inaugural Boeing Championship at Sandestin, solidifying his first Champions Tour title in five years. Wadkins closed with a 1-under 70 to finish at 10-under 203.
Pro V1 players Loren Roberts and Tom Watson were among four players who tied for third, three shots behind Wadkins. Gil Morgan (Pro V1x) finished solo seventh and Titleist ambassador Peter Jacobsen (Pro V1x), John Bland (Pro V1) and Jerry Pate (Pro V1x) rounded out the top 10. Seven of the top 10 finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
Titleist players have won 9 of the first 11 events on the 2006 Champions Tour.
Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at the event with over 78% of the field relying upon the Pro V1 or Pro V1x. With 62 players, over five times as many players trusted Titleist golf balls than the nearest competitor with 11.
NATIONWIDE TOUR: Titleist full-line staff player Darron Stiles (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905R driver, Pro Trajectory prototype 3-wood, Forged 704.CB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled SW and LW, and Scotty Cameron by Titleist putter) made par from a bunker on the first playoff hole, edging fellow Pro V1 player Michael Putnam and winning the Rheem Classic for his fourth career Nationwide Tour crown. Stiles made par on the 72nd hole while Putnam bogied to force the playoff as the two finished regulation at 13-under 267. At the par-4 18th for the playoff hole, both players found greenside bunkers with their second shots but Stiles was able to get up-and-down for his first win since the 2002 Knoxville Open.
This is the second consecutive Nationwide Tour event to be won by a tee-to-green Titleist staff player after Andrew Buckle captured the Virginia Beach Open last week. This is also the eighth win in nine events for players using a Titleist golf ball on the 2006 Nationwide Tour.
More players chose Titleist golf balls than all other competitors combined at the Rheem Classic. Of the 156 players in the field, 115 (74%) relied upon Titleist, more than nine times the nearest competitor with 12.
Titleist was also the top choice in irons with 49 (20 more than the nearest competitor with 29), wedges (143 vs. 84) and putters (65 vs. 28). Titleist was second in the driver category with 46, just three shy of the leader.
CANADIAN TOUR: Pro V1x player Rob Oppenheim erased a seven-shot deficit entering the final round to win the Corona Mazatlan Classic in a playoff for his second Canadian Tour title of the season. Oppenheim, who carded a final round 8-under 64, birdied the first extra hole to edge the overnight leader. Both players finished at 15-under 273. It was the fourth time in five Canadian Tour events this season that a playoff was needed to decide the outcome, all of them won by Titleist players. In fact, Titleist golf ball players have won all five events on the 2006 Canadian Tour.
ASIAN TOUR: South African veteran Hendrik Buhrmann (Pro V1x) claimed a two-stroke victory at the inaugural Aamby Valley Asian Masters. Buhrmann carded a final round 1-under 71 for a winning total of 11-under 277 to edge Simon Hurd (Pro V1). Pro V1 players Terry Pilkadaris and Marcus Both finished third and fourth, respectively, giving Titleist a sweep of the top four positions on the leaderboard.
LPGA TOUR: With 114 players, over 79 percent of the field relied upon Titleist golf balls, 100 more than the nearest competitor with 14.
JAPAN TOUR: More than twice as many players relied upon Titleist golf balls than the nearest competitor with 72 compared to 34. Titleist was also the top choice in wedges with 54.
DIRECT FROM THE TOUR: To view exclusive round-by-round interviews with EDS Byron Nelson Championship winner Brett Wetterich, as well as other top Titleist players from 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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