SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (May 3, 2010) – Nippon Shaft today congratulated the winner of the LPGA’s Tres Marias Championship and two veteran PGA TOUR players who finished among the top 10 at the Quail Hollow Championship.
Yesterday’s final results mean the 24-year-old Japanese superstar now has used Nippon Shaft products to win three of the first five full-field LPGA events staged so far this year. She leads the LPGA’s money list with $593,284, including $195,000 for Sunday’s victory. She’s No. 3 on the Rolex Rankings, trailing the No. 1 player by a mere .18 points. This week, she plays in the Salonpas Cup, a major on the Japan LPGA Tour.
At Quail Hollow, a couple of young veterans finished solo fourth and fifth at 9-under and 8-under par, respectively. Both recently put Nippon Shaft prototypes in their irons, according to Nippon Shaft officials.
“Nippon Shaft congratulates these three fine players on their exceptional performances over the weekend,” said Hiroyuki Fukuda, head of sales and marketing for Nippon Shaft. “We are pleased Nippon Shaft products played a part in their success and wish them continued success in the future.”
The Tres Marias champion used Nippon Shaft’s custom-made N.S. Pro V-90 lightweight steel shafts in her Bridgestone irons to secure all three of her victories this year. She won the first two tournaments of the 2010 LPGA season – the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand and the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore.
On the men’s side, the 29-year-old native of Zimbabwe who finished fourth shot up the leaderboard Sunday on the strength of a 6-under par 66, which moved him to 9-under for the tournament. He won $312,000, thereby boosting his season earnings total to $764,563 in 14 events.
The player who finished fifth at Quail Hollow shot 4-under 68 on Sunday for an 8-under total of 280. His opening round 7-under 65 gave the former Oklahoma State All-American the first-round lead, which he followed up with rounds of 76 and 71. Sunday was his fifth top 25 finish so far this season and came on the heels of a T-3 finish the previous week at Hilton Head. So far this year, he has earned $968,442 in official money.
Nippon Shaft has more than 50 professional victories worldwide. Based in Yokahama, Japan, Nippon Shaft is the No. 1-selling steel shaft in Asia, where it controls 80 percent of the golf shaft market. In North America, Nippon Shaft is the No. 2-selling steel shaft and is growing.
Nippon Shaft is a subsidiary of privately-held NHK Spring Co. LTD, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer. Nippon Shaft’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801 (office)
847-867-3032 (mobile)
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
