Titleist Golf Ball Players Win Seven Times Across Worldwide Professional Tours.
Fairhaven, MA (June 8, 2009) – Titleist is the most trusted golf ball on the worldwide professional tours. That trust is rewarded with more wins than all other balls combined. This week proved no exception as Titleist players captured seven victories, advancing its 2009 win count to 64, more than all other golf balls combined. Jeppe Huldahl secured his first European Tour title, while In-Kyung Kim closed strong on the LPGA Tour. Bernhard Langer topped a Titleist-laden leaderboard to earn his third Champions Tour title of the year. Mathias Gronberg set a tournament scoring record on the Nationwide Tour, and Peter Karmis rallied to win in South Africa following a remarkable final round 59. With additional victories on the Japan and Canadian Tours, Titleist continues to set the standard for golf ball performance. Worldwide.
TITLEIST HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING JUNE 7, 2009
EUROPEAN: Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl relied upon the Pro V1x golf ball to secure his maiden European Tour title at The Celtic Manor Wales Open. The 26-year-old, who was tied for the overnight lead, fired a final round 4-under 67 to finish at 9-under 275. Huldahl becomes the ninth first-time winner on the 2009 European Tour schedule. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Celtic Manor Wales Open with 100 players, compared to 29 for the nearest competitor.
CHAMPIONS: It was an all-Titleist Top-5 at the Triton Financial Classic as Pro V1 loyalist Bernhard Langer shot a final round 67 and cruised to a six-shot victory with a 15-under 201 total. Titleist Brand Ambassador Mark O’Meara (Pro V1, 909D3 driver, 909F3 fairway metal, 909H hybrid, AP2 irons, Vokey Design wedges) shot a 2-under 70 to finish solo 2nd at 9-under 207. Dana Quigley (Pro V1) finished another shot behind for 3rd place, and was followed by Scott Hoch (Pro V1x, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Futura putter), Larry Mize (Pro V1, Scotty Cameron SS putter) and Gene Jones (Pro V1x), who tied for 4th at 7-under 209.
Langer’s win featured the largest margin of victory on the Champions Tour this year, and he became the first wire-to-wire winner this season. It was his third Champions Tour victory of the season and his sixth overall in less than two years. Langer, who was last season’s leading money winner and Player of the Year on the Champions Tour, again finds himself at the top of the Charles Schwab Cup points list. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Triton Financial Classic with 48 players, compared to 14 for the nearest competitor. Titleist was also first in iron sets (T17) and wedges (44).
LPGA: In-Kyung Kim, playing the Pro V1 golf ball, sank birdie putts on two of her final three holes to capture the State Farm Classic by a stroke. In a star-studded field that featured 49 of the top 50 money winners, Kim fired a final round 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 271, giving the 20-year-old her second career victory. Hee-Won Han fired her own 7-under 65 in the final round to tie Angela Stanford and Jee Young Lee, as the three Titleist Pro V1 players shared third place at 15-under 273. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the LPGA State Farm Classic with 97 players, compared to 29 for the nearest competitor.
NATIONWIDE: After weather delays forced a 36-hole Sunday finish, Mathias Gronberg (Pro V1x, Vokey Design wedges) posted rounds of 67-65 to earn a six-stroke win at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open. Gronberg closed out his first Nationwide Tour victory at 19-under 269. Justin Bolli (Pro V1, 695MB irons, Vokey Spin Milled wedges, Scotty Cameron prototype putter) was among two players who shared second place at 13-under 275. Esteban Toledo (Pro V1x) was solo fourth place at 12-under following a final-round, 6-under 66. Titleist Brand Ambassador Oskar Bergman (Pro V1x, 909D3 driver, 909F3 fairway metal, 909H hybrid, 735CM irons, Vokey Spin Milled wedges) finished at 11-under 277, sharing fifth place with Tom Scherrer (Pro V1, Scotty Cameron Newport 2 mid-slant putter).
In his victory, Gronberg bettered the tournament scoring record by one stroke. Of the 11 players who tied for 10th place or better at the event, 10 trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open with 104 players, compared to 21 for the nearest competitor. Titleist was first in wedges (133) and putters (55) and second in drivers (26) and iron sets (39).
SOUTH AFRICA: Pro V1 player Peter Karmis fired a remarkable final round 59 which gave him a four shot victory at the Lombard Insurance Classic. It is the second career title for Karmis who finished at 18-under 198. His flawless final round consisted of seven birdies and three eagles and is the first official 59 to be recorded on the Sunshine Tour. Fifty-one players in the 72-player field relied upon Titleist golf balls, compared to 17 for the nearest competitor.
JAPAN: It was an all-Titleist finish at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship, where 40-year-old Yuji Igarashi relied upon the Pro V1 to shoot a final round 1-under par 70 and capture his first Japan Golf Tour title in come-from-behind fashion. Igarashi’s 8-under 276 total was one shot better than New Zealand’s David Smail (Pro V1x, 909D2 driver, 909F2 fairway metal, ZB irons, Vokey Design pitching wedge, Spin Milled sand and lob wedges), Korea’s I.J. Jang (Pro V1x, 909H hybrids, ZB irons, Vokey Spin Milled wedges) and Toru Suzuki (Pro V1x), who finished in a three-way tie for second at 7-under 277. Naoya Takemoto (Pro V1) finished alone in 5th position. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship with 54 players. Titleist was also first in hybrids (18) and wedges (61).
CANADIAN: Byron Smith (Pro V1x) fired a 6-under final round 64 to come from three strokes behind to win the Times Colonist Open. Smith eagled the 12th hole and then birdied three of his next four, highlighting a 13-under par 267 effort that topped two players by three shots. Five players tied for fourth place at 8-under 272. It was the third career victory on the Canadian Tour for Smith, who won 2007 ROLEX Player of the Year honors.
KOREA: Titleist Brand Ambassador SoonSang Hong (Pro V1x, 909D3 driver, 909F3 3-wood, ZM irons, Vokey Design sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Studio Select Circle T putter) fired a final round 3-under par to force a playoff at the SBS Kumho Asiana Players Championship. Both players finished regulation at 4-under 284. Hong won with a par on the second playoff hole. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the event with 81 players, more than three times the nearest competitor with 24. Hong topped a leaderboard that included seven Titleist golf ball loyalists among the nine players who finished T5 or better.
PGA TOUR: Titleist was the most played golf ball at The Memorial Tournament with 75 players, compared to 16 for the nearest competitor. Titleist was also first in irons sets (33), wedges (110) and putters (44), and second in drivers (30), fairway metals (48) and hybrids (T-19).
TITLEIST TOUR BLOG: For daily inside-the-ropes notes, video, player and equipment information from across the worldwide professional tours, please visit the Titleist Tour Blog at: http://titleistblog.com/
DIRECT FROM THE TOUR VIDEO: To view exclusive round-by-round interviews with Titleist players from every PGA TOUR event, please visit our Direct from the Tour feature online at: http://www.titleist.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1
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://www.titleist.com/leaderboard/default.asp
Contact:
Joe Gomes, Director of Communications (508.979.3211)
