Rookie Trusts Titleist from Tee-to-Green in Maiden PGA Tour Victory
Rookie Eric Axley earned his first career PGA Tour title, firing consecutive career-best rounds of 63 en route to a three-shot win at the Valero Texas Open. He becomes the second consecutive Titleist brand ambassador to win on the PGA Tour. Last week, Ben Curtis captured the 84 Lumber Classic for his second victory of the year and the third of his career trusting the Pro V1x and a full bag of Titleist golf clubs.
Axley finished the week with a 15-under 265 total, including a stretch of 53 consecutive holes without a bogey. Dean Wilson (Pro V1x) was among a three-way tie for second place. Titleist full-line staff professional, Frank Lickliter III (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905S driver, PT 906F2 3-wood, Forged 695MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled approach, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport putter), tied for fifth with Chris Riley (Pro V1x), while another Titleist brand ambassador, Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905R driver, PT prototype fairway metal, Forged 680 irons, Vokey Design sand wedge and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Red X putter) tied for eighth position.
Of the 20 players who finished in the top 15 and ties, 17 relied on Titleist golf balls. In fact, Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Valero Texas Open with 100 players (69%), more than six times the nearest competitor with 15. Titleist was also the choice of more players than any other brand in the wedge (106/34%) and putter (57/40%) categories.
The victory was the 20th for Titleist golf ball players this year on the PGA Tour, compared to 11 for the nearest competitor.
Axley’s win also marked the 22nd on the PGA Tour for players relying upon the consistency and confidence inspired by a Scott Cameron putter, more than three times the nearest competitor with 7.
WHAT’S IN ERIC AXLEY’S BAG?: Pro V1x golf ball, Pro Titanium 905R driver (8.5), Forged 690MB irons (3-P), Vokey Design sand (56) and lob (60) wedges, Scotty Cameron putter.
To learn more about Titleist’s golf club success on the PGA Tour, the PGA Professional National Championship and at major amateur events, visit the new Titleist Golf Club leaderboard at: http://titleist.com/leaderboard/default.asp
RYDER CUP: Europe defeated the United States 18 1/2-9 1/2 to win a third straight Ryder Cup, this time by the same margin of victory as their win at Oakland Hills in 2004. It is the first time in history that the Europeans have defeated the Americans three straight in these biennial matches.
Fifteen players relied upon Titleist golf balls at the Ryder Cup, including eight from the victorious European team and seven on the United States squad. Among the Titleist golf ball loyalists on the European Team were David Howell, Luke Donald, full-line Titleist ambassador Robert Karlsson, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. American players included David Toms, Chris DiMarco, Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, full-line Titleist ambassador Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich and Scott Verplank. The nearest competitor had four golf balls in play.
DIRECT FROM THE RYDER CUP: Check out exclusive previews, post-round and post-event interviews with all of the Titleist players who participated in the 36th Ryder Cup Matches. In addition, view our daily photo gallery from the event by visiting http://titleist.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1.
NATIONWIDE: Pro V1 player Cliff Kresge won the Oregon Classic with a par on the third hole of a sudden death playoff for his third career nationwide Tour crown. Overall, Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Oregon Classic with 114 players (74%), 100 more than the nearest competitor with 14. Titleist was also the choice of more players than any other brand in the iron (50/32%), wedge (152/45%) and putter (57/37%) categories. Titleist was also a close second in drivers (50).
The win was the 21st for Titleist players on the 2006 Nationwide Tour, more than ten times the nearest competitor with 2.
JAPAN: It was an all-Titleist playoff at the Acom International as Mamo Osanai (Pro V1x, Scotty Cameron Red X putter) defeated Taichi Teshima (Pro V1, Scotty Cameron putter) for his third career title on the Japan Golf Tour and first in seven years. Osanai birdied two of the last three holes in regulation, including the 18th, to finish at 14-under and force the playoff with Teshima who was in the clubhouse after shooting a final round 63.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Acom International with 61 players, more than twice the nearest competitor with 21. Titleist was also the most played wedge (38).
ASIAN: Korean native Y.E. Yang (Pro V1x) closed with a 1-under 70 to capture the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open by three shots over Kang Ji-Man (Pro V1). Yang, who finished at 14-under 270, captured the Japan Golf Tour’s Suntory Open two weeks ago.
Titleist golf ball players accounted for more than 83% of the field at the Korea Open with 120, more than 13 times the nearest competitor with 9.
WORLDWIDE WIN COUNT: Four wins this week advanced Titleist’s worldwide victory count to 130, more than five times its nearest competitor with 23.
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