Fairhaven, MA (October 23, 2006) – Week after week, the winning momentum of Titleist continues to build across the worldwide professional tours. The winning continued on the PGA Tour, where Joe Durant captured the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World, topping a leaderboard that featured nine Titleist golf ball players among the top 10 and ties. It was a week of firsts on the Champions and Nationwide Tours, as Pro V1 loyalist Fred Funk captured the AT&T Championship, while full-line Titleist staff professional Michael Sim won the PalmettoPride Classic in a playoff. With additional victories on the Japan and Asian Tours, respectively, Titleist’s five-win week advances its year-to-date win count to 146, nearly six times more than the nearest competitor with 25.
U.S PGA TOUR: Durant fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 in the final round to win the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World for his fourth career PGA Tour victory. Durant finished the week with a 25-under 263 total to top Titleist ambassadors Frank Lickliter II (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905S driver, PT 906F2 3-wood, Forged 695 MB irons, Vokey Design pitching wedge, Spin Milled approach wedge and Spin Milled prototype TVD sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport putter) and Troy Matteson (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905R driver, 755 irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled prototype TVD sand and lob wedges) by four strokes. Matteson recorded his fourth top-10 finish in as many weeks, and was seeking his second consecutive win after capturing the Frys.com Open last week. It was also the second consecutive top five finish for Lickliter who finished fourth last week.
Fellow Titleist brand ambassadors Davis Love III (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R, PT 906 3-wood, PT 585.H, Forged 680 irons, Vokey Design sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) and Nick Watney (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905R, PT 906F2 3-wood, PT 585.H, Forged 695 MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) tied for fifth, as four Titleist full-line equipment loyalists finished among the top five for the third consecutive week.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the FUNAI Classic with 106 players (74%), nearly nine times the nearest competitor with 12. The win is the 23rd by a Titleist golf ball player on the 2006 PGA Tour.
Titleist was also the choice of more players than any other brand in the iron (31/22%), wedge (122/40%) and putter (47/33%) categories.
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
CHAMPIONS: In just his third start on the Champions Tour, Fred Funk birdied three of his last four holes for a final round 2-under 69 and a one-stroke victory at the AT&T Championship. Funk, who has won seven times on the PGA Tour, finished with a 12-under 201 total to edge fellow Pro V1 loyalist Chip Beck. Beck closed with a 6-under 65 and has four top five finishes in his first six starts since joining the Champions Tour.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the event with 57 players (73%), more than five times the nearest competitor with 11. The win is the 23rd by a Titleist golf ball player on the 2006 Champions Tour, more than the seven times the nearest competitor with 3.
NATIONWIDE: Titleist brand ambassador and Nationwide Tour rookie Michael Sim (Pro V1x, Pro Titanium 905T driver, PT 906 3-wood, Forged 670 irons, Vokey Design pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron by Titleist Futura putter) converted a 6-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff to edge Ken Duke (Pro V1) and win the inaugural PalmettoPride Classic. It marked the first career win for Sim, who was knotted with Duke at 12-under 276 following regulation play. Sim had to complete his final two holes Monday morning after play was suspended due to darkness for the first time in the Nationwide Tour’s 17-year history. The win came on Sim’s 22nd birthday.
Duke moved to the top of the Nationwide Tour money list with his runner-up finish, while Sim vaulted to No. 18 with one full-field event and the Nationwide Tour Championship remaining. The top-20 money-winners at the end of the year earn a PGA TOUR card for 2007.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the PalmettoPride Classic with 110 players (76%), more than nine times the nearest competitor with 12. Titleist was also the choice of more players than any other brand in the iron (46/32%), wedge (139/44%) and putter (64/44%) categories.
JAPAN: It was another Titleist 1-2 finish on the Japan Golf Tour, as a Pro V1 player captured the Bridgestone Open by five shots over Pro V1x player Kiyoshi Maita. The winner fired a final round 4-under 68 to finish with a tournament record 22-under 266 total. Last week, Paul Sheehan posted a three-stroke victory over fellow Pro V1x loyalist Azuma Yano at the Japan Open. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Bridgestone Open with 45 players.
ASIAN: India’s Jyoti Randhawa captured the Hero Honda Indian Open for the second time in his career topping compatriot and fellow Pro V1x player S.S.P Chowrasia with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. It marked the sixth career Asian Tour title for Randhawa, who also won the 2000 Indian Open in a playoff. The event concluded on Monday morning after play was halted on Sunday evening due to darkness. Vijay Kumar (Pro V1) had also been involved on the first extra hole but dropped out after he lost his tee shot. Simon Dyson (Pro V1x), a two-time winner on the PGA European Tour this year, closed with 68 to finish one shot shy of the playoff.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Indian Open with 130 players (90%), more than 16 times the nearest competitor with 8, including all of the top 10 finishers.
KOREAN: HyungSung Kim captured the LIG PGA Championship by two shots over fellow Pro V1x player JoongKyung Mo and three shots clear of Pro V1 player Soonsang Hong. In fact, of the 13 players who finished among the top 10 and ties, all relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
DIRECT FROM THE TOUR: To view exclusive round-by-round interviews with Titleist players from the FUNAI Classic and 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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