PGA Tour rookie Matt Bettencourt led the field in putting last week at the Frys.com Open using Tiger Shark’s new SuperStroke Lite Fatso grip. Bettencourt finished 1st in Putts Per GIR with an average of 1.568 and ranked 3rd in per round average by averaging 27 Putts Per Round, setting a tournament low with 22 putts in Saturday’s round. The SuperStroke Fatso was the most used oversized putter grip at the Scottsdale, AZ PGA Tour event.
Bettencourt, a longtime SuperStroke user, has earned $740,000 on the PGA Tour this year, ranking him 106th in the FedEx point standings and securing the player a fully exempt card on the 2010 PGA Tour. He originally earned his PGA card by finishing first on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2008. The 34-year-old Bettencourt turned pro in 2002 and bounced between the Nationwide Tour, Canadian Tour and Tarheel Tour searching for a breakthrough in his game. He found his answer when he started using a SuperStroke grip last season on the Nationwide Tour. He was ranked 90th on the money list when he made the switch and went on to finish the year with two victories and 3 Top 10 finishes.
“I went from around 150 to the top 50 in putting,” said Bettencourt. “It’s made all the difference in the world for me. It’s taken my hands out of it. I got really back and forth with the belly putter. But with this SuperStroke Grip, it’s been fantastic. It really changed my game.”
Bettencourt switched to the SuperStroke Lie Fatso grip 85 gram slip-on grip at the HP Byron Nelson Championship this year. The new putter grip improved his putting significantly and led him to a career best 5th place finish at The Memorial Tournament, and a finish on the top of a star-studded leader board at the US Open.
“The new SuperStroke Lite grip allowed me to excel on the greens with confidence,” said Bettencourt. “I like everything about this new grip. The texture is awesome and the weight is perfect.”
Other players on tour have taken notice of the putter grip that measures 1.67 inches in diameter. In all, over 30 players on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour put a Tiger Shark jumbo grip into play in 2009, earning ten Top 10 finishes and earning a victory, and #1 putting stats at the Byron Nelson Championship.
The SuperStroke Lite Fatso putter grip, the model most preferred by the tour professionals, is three times the size of a standard putter grip. The larger surface area of a SuperStroke brings more of the grip into contact with the hands, inhibiting breakdown of the wrists and ensures a smooth and fluid putting stroke. The grip will be officially introduced to the golfing public this month and will retail for $24.99.
More About Tiger Shark Golf
Tiger Shark has more than 1,600 accounts across the U.S. including Golf Galaxy, Edwin Watts, Golfsmith, Roger Dunn, Pro Golf, Nevada Bobs, PGA Tour Superstores, Golf Headquarters and TGW.com. Tiger Shark, one of the oldest brands in golf, offers a variety of golf equipment with a specialty in grips, putters, complete sets, drivers, wedges and hybrids. For more information about Tiger Shark, call 800-667-0181 or visit www.tigersharkgolf.com.
Contact:
Jon Claffey
Director of Marketing
Tiger Shark Golf
jclaffey@golfassetsllc.com
