Singh and Kerr Lead Titleist Golf Ball Players to 7-Win Week
Fairhaven, MA (August 25, 2008) – The Barclays marked the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and Vijay Singh rose to the occasion. Trusting the superior performance and consistency of the Pro V1x golf ball, Singh won in dramatic fashion on the second extra hole. It was his second victory in four weeks and his 33rd career PGA Tour title. The momentum continued on the LPGA Tour, where Pro V1 loyalist Cristie Kerr captured the Safeway Classic on the first hole of a three-way playoff. In fact, Titleist was the choice of seven champions across the worldwide professional tours this week, advancing its year-to-date golf ball win count to 120, nearly five times the nearest competitor with 25.
TITLEIST HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING AUGUST 24, 2008
PGA: Vijay Singh won The Barclays for a record fourth time after extending a sudden death playoff with a long birdie putt on the first extra hole, and then winning it with another birdie on the next. Singh closed with a one-under 70 to match two players at eight-under 276 in regulation, including fellow Pro V1x player Kevin Sutherland.
Singh, the 1993, 1995 and 2006 winner of the event when it was played at Westchester, earned 11,000 FedEx Cup points in the playoff opener to take the lead with 109,500 points. It was the 33rd career PGA TOUR title for Singh and his second this season, having also won three weeks ago at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Titleist ambassador Ben Curtis (Pro V1x, 907D2 driver, 909 F2 fairway metal, 585.H utility metal, AP2 irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 putter) continued his strong play in big events, joining third-round leader Kevin Streelman (Pro V1x) and Mathew Goggin (Pro V1x) in a tie for fourth place at seven-under 277. Of the 11 players who finished tied for seventh or better at The Barclays, eight trusted Titleist for their success.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at The Barclays with 90 players, compared to 16 for the nearest competitor. Titleist was also the top choice in the iron (32), wedge (140) and putter (64) categories. The win was the 21st for Titleist golf ball players on the 2008 PGA TOUR, more than all other golf balls combined.
LPGA: Pro V1 golf ball loyalist Cristie Kerr sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole of the Safeway Classic, to win a three-player sudden death playoff. Among the playoff participants was fellow Pro V1 loyalist Helen Alfredsson. The trio finished regulation at 13-under 203. The win was the 11th of Kerr’s LPGA Tour career. Kerr rallied from four shots down entering the final round, closing with a seven-under par 65, the lowest round of the tournament. Another Pro V1 player, Katherine Hull, finished solo fourth, two strokes out of the playoff. Hull won the CN Canadian Women’s Open last week. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Safeway Classic with 108 players (75%), compared to 29 for the nearest competitor.
CHAMPIONS: Tom Kite (Pro V1) posted three birdies in four holes on the back nine and finished at 14-under 202 to win his second Boeing Classic title. Kite shot a six-under 66 in his final round charge. It marks the 10th career Champions Tour title for Kite, and his first since winning the 2006 Boeing Classic in a playoff. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Boeing Classic with 52 players, compared to 10 for the nearest competitor. The win is the 18th for Titleist golf ball players on the 2008 Champions Tour, six times the nearest competitor with 3.
NATIONWIDE: Scott Piercy (Pro V1) made up a four-stroke deficit entering the final round of the Northeast Pennsylvania Championship by closing with a six-under 64 to earn his second victory in three weeks. The 29-year old posted his 13-under 267 total and then had to wait an hour to see if anyone would match it or better it. Titleist ambassador Brendon de Jonge (Pro V1x, 905R driver, 906F4 fairway metal, AP2 irons, Vokey Design sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport Fastback putter), last week’s winner, and Cameron Percy (Pro V1) tied for second, two shots back.
The win vaulted Piercy from No. 35 to No. 12 on the Nationwide Tour money list and locked up a spot on the 2009 PGA TOUR. The top 25 on the list at year’s end earn a 2009 PGA TOUR card. The champion also played Titleist 690MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled gap, sand and lob wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter for his success.
Piercy becomes the Nationwide Tour’s third multiple winner in 2008, joining Titleist brand ambassadors Jarrod Lyle and Colt Knost. A third win for any of the three will result in an instant promotion to the PGA TOUR.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic with 106 players, compared to 23 for the nearest competitor. Titleist was also the top choice in the iron (40), wedge (133) and putter (59) categories. The win is the 19th for Titleist golf ball players on the 2008 Nationwide Tour, compared to one for the nearest competitor.
ASIAN: Australian rookie Rick Kulacz (Pro V1x) holed a stunning bunker shot for birdie on the first playoff hole to win the Brunei Open, defeating four-time Asian Tour winner Lu Wen-teh in an all-Titleist Pro V1x playoff. It was the maiden Asian Tour title for the 23-year-old. Kulacz held the overnight lead by one shot, but was caught by Lu, who fired a final round four-under 67. Kulacz, the 2001 world junior champion, closed with a one-under 70 to force the playoff at 13-under 271.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Brunei Open with 105 players (75%), compared to 16 for the nearest competitor. In fact, 14 out of the top 15 finishers relied upon Titleist for their success.
SOUTH AFRICAN: George Coetzee (Pro V1x) carded a final round 69 to win the Sunshine Tour’s season-opening SAA Pro-Am Invitational. It marked the second career victory for Coetzee, who overcame wet and windy conditions to edge two players, including fellow Titleist brand ambassador Doug McGuigan (Pro V1x), by three shots. Coetzee finished at nine-under 207. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the SAA Pro-Am Invitational with 68 players (69%) in the field of 99, compared to 26 for the nearest competitor.
CANADIAN: Rookie Alex Coe (Pro V1) eagled the par-5 16th hole en route to capturing the Jane Rogers Championship by three strokes over Graham DeLaet (Pro V1x). Coe posted a final round two-under 68 to finish at 15-under 265, which included four consecutive rounds in the 60’s.
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