Wins All-Pro V1 Playoff with Titleist Ambassador Steve Stricker at Kapalua
Fairhaven, MA (January 7, 2008) – In a nail-biting conclusion to the PGA TOUR’s 2008 season-opener, Titleist Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Daniel Chopra two-putted for birdie on the par 5 ninth to edge Titleist ambassador Steve Stricker (Pro V1, Titleist 905T driver, 906F2 fairway metal, 585.H utility metal, 755 irons, Vokey Design sand and lob wedges) on the fourth extra hole of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. It marked the second career PGA TOUR title for Chopra, who qualified for the winners-only event following his maiden victory at the Ginn sur Mer Classic, the next to last tournament of 2007. With the win, Chopra now qualifies for the 2008 Masters, achieving his "lifelong dream" of playing at Augusta.
Both players finished regulation at 18-under 274 with Chopra firing a closing 7-under 66, while Stricker posted a sizzling 9-under 64 that included three birdies over the final four holes. Stricker’s 64 matched the tournament’s best round established by fellow Pro V1 player Hunter Mahan earlier in the day. Mahan moved from T16 to T5 with his Sunday performance.
In fact, five of the seven players who placed among the top 5 and ties relied upon Titleist golf balls. Titleist players following Chopra and Stricker’s 1-2 finish on the leaderboard were Mike Weir (Pro V1x/4th), and Titleist ambassador Nick Watney (Pro V1x, 905R driver, 906F2 3-wood, 585.H utility metal, 704.CB/695MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport Square prototype putter), who joined Mahan at T5.
Statistically, Watney finished 1st in Greens in Regulation (93.1%) and was 2nd in Driving Distance with an average of 269 yards.
Twenty of the 31 players in the limited-field event played Titleist golf balls, five times more than the nearest competitor with 4. In addition to being the most played golf ball, Titleist was also the favorite among more players than any other brand in the iron (6, tied), wedge (25) and putter (10) categories, and a close second in drivers (6).
On the equipment front, in addition to Watney’s new putter, defending Masters champion and Titleist ambassador Zach Johnson added a new Titleist 906F4 fairway metal (18.5) to his bag and increased the loft of his Titleist 905R driver from 8.5 to 9.5 to start the season.
DIRECT FROM THE TOUR: To view exclusive round-by-round interviews with Titleist players from the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, including winner Daniel Chopra, please visit our Direct from the Tour feature online at: http://titleist.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1
TITLEIST TOUR BLOG: Now that the 2008 PGA TOUR season is underway, find out what’s going on inside the ropes at every PGA TOUR and ask questions of our Titleist Tour Leadership staff by visiting the Titleist Tour Blog at: http://www.titleisttourblog.com/
TITLEIST GOLF CLUB LEADERBOARD: To learn about Titleist’s golf club success on the PGA Tour, the PGA Professional National Championship and at major amateur events throughout the year, visit the Titleist Golf Club leaderboard at: http://titleist.com/leaderboard/default.asp
Contact:
Joe Gomes, Director of Communications, Acushnet Company
(508.979.3211)
