Titleist brand ambassador Bill Haas captures Tour Championship and FedEx Cup in dramatic sudden death playoff
Fairhaven, MA (September 26, 2011) – Determination, perseverance and performance in the clutch were on display at the TOUR Championship, as Titleist Brand Ambassador Bill Haas claimed both the regular season ending event and the coveted FedEx Cup in a thrilling sudden death playoff. Trusting a complete bag of Titleist equipment from tee-to-green, Haas showed remarkable resilience and creative shot making to top fellow Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Hunter Mahan in dramatic fashion on the third extra hole.
Haas shot a final round 2-under 68, and the pair finished regulation at 8-under 272, to advance to the richest sudden death playoff in golf history. Haas’ most important shot proved to be his third at the par-4 17th (second playoff hole) after his approach dribbled into the water to the right of the green. With most of his Pro V1x golf ball above the water line, he hit an explosion shot with his Vokey Design 60 degree E grind wedge with 7 degrees of bounce (60.07), to within 3 feet. He saved par and forced the third and winning playoff hole.
WHAT’S IN BILL HAAS’ BAG?: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; 910D2 driver (8.5); 910F fairway metal (13.5); CB 2-iron (712), CB 3-P (710); Vokey Design sand (54) and lob (60) wedges; Scotty Cameron Kombi belly putter.
– Three more Titleist golf ball loyalists – World No. 1 Luke Donald (Pro V1x), K.J. Choi (Pro V1) and Aaron Baddeley (Pro V1x) – tied for 3rd place, one shot out of the playoff, as each of the top five finishers and eight of the top 10 at the TOUR Championship trusted the #1 ball in golf for their success.
– Titleist Brand Ambassador Adam Scott (Pro V1, 910D3 driver, 910Fd fairway metal, 910H hybrid, MB irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Kombi Long putter) and Charles Howell III (Pro V1x) tied for 6th, while Titleist Brand Ambassador Bo Van Pelt (Pro V1, 909D2 driver, 910Fd fairway metal, 910H hybrid, CB 4/MB 5-9 irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Timeless putter) finished solo 9th.
– The win was the third of Haas’ PGA TOUR career and his first of the season. Last year, he won the Bob Hope Classic and the Viking Classic. He had already participated in two three-man playoffs this year, at the Humana Challenge and The Greenbrier Classic. Haas entered the week as a longshot to win the FedExCup. He was ranked 25th out of the 30 participants in points. He edged fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Webb Simpson by a mere 15 points for the $10 million bonus in the season-long race.
STATS: Trusting Titleist equipment from tee-to-green, Haas finished among the top 11 players in six statistical categories. He was 9th in Driving Distance (299.9), 5th in Driving Accuracy (62.5%), 11th in Greens in Regulation (69.4%), first in Putts Per Greens in Regulation (1.580), 9th in Putts Per Round (28.8) and first in Birdies (22).
– Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the TOUR Championship with 20 players, five times the nearest competitor with 4. Titleist also was first in fairway metals (11); iron sets (9), including 2 sets of new 712 prototype irons (1 AP2 and 1 MB set in play); sand, lob and approach wedges (24); and putters (12). Titleist was second in drivers (9), including 6 910D2 or 910D3 drivers in play; and hybrids (6).
EUROPEAN TOUR: Titleist Brand Ambassador Kenneth Ferrie (Pro V1x, 910D2 driver, 910F fairway metal, 910H hybrid, new CB prototype 712 series irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport putter) won the Austrian Golf Open in a playoff for his third career PGA European Tour title, and his first in six years. Ferrie fired a final round 5-under 67 to finish at 12-under 276, won with a birdie on the first extra hole.
Eight players in the top-10 relied on a Titleist golf ball for their success. Titleist was the most played golf ball at the event with 94 players, more than five times the nearest competitor with 18.
LPGA TOUR: Europe regained control of The Solheim Cup for the first time since 2003 with a 15-13 victory over the USA at Killeen Castle in Ireland.
Fourteen of the 24 players who competed for this year’s United States and European Solheim Cup teams are Titleist golf ball players, nearly five times the nearest competitor with three. The winning European side features six Titleist golf ball players: Christel Boeljon, Caroline Hedwall, Maria Hjorth and Azahara Muñoz play Pro V1, while Catriona Matthew and Karen Stupples play Pro V1x. For the United States, eight of the 12 team members rely on Titleist golf balls, including Pro V1 loyalists Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Juli Inkster and Ryann O’Toole. Christina Kim, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Brittany Lincicome play Pro V1x.
NATIONWIDE TOUR: In an all-Titleist playoff at the Soboba Golf Classic, Ted Potter, Jr. (Pro V1x) birdied the second extra hole to outlast Andres Gonzales (Pro V1) and Miguel Angel Carballo (Pro V1x) for the win. The victory marks the second win of the season for Potter, who also won the South Georgia Classic in May. Potter fired a 5-under 66 in the final round, including a birdie on the 72nd hole to equal Gonzales and Carballo at 14-under 270. He then birdied both playoff holes, topping Carballo on the first and Gonzales on the second.
– Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice with 110 players, more than six times the nearest competitor with 16. Of the ten players who finished in the Top 10, eight relied on a Titleist golf ball for their success. Titleist also was first in iron sets (43); sand, lob and approach wedges (138); and putters (60).
SOUTH AFRICA: Jean Hugo (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, new MB prototype irons, Vokey Design wedges) claimed his third title of the year by winning the Vodacom Origins Final. Hugo fired a final round 6-under 66 en route to an 8-under par 208 victory total, two clear of two players, including fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Louis de Jager (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, CB irons, Vokey Design wedges).
JAPAN TOUR: At the Asian-Pacific Panasonic Open, Titleist Brand Ambassador Do-hon Kim (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, 910H hybrid, MB irons, Vokey Design pitching wedge, Vokey TVD sand and lob wedges) and fellow South Korean countryman S.K. Ho (Pro V1x, 910D2 driver, 910H hybrids, prototype CB 712 series irons, Vokey TVD approach wedge, Vokey Design lob wedge) tied for 2nd, three shots behind the winner. Kim and Ho posted 5-under 279’s at the event, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Titleist was the golf ball of choice at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open with 70 players, more than three times the nearest competitor with 23. Titleist also was first in hybrids (40); irons sets (32); and wedges (111).
CHINA TOUR: Hsu Mong Nan (ProV1x) of Chinese Taipei captured the China PGA Champions Tour Xiamen event, marking his first-ever win on the China Tour. Hsu posted a 2-under par 286 victory total, five clear of Titleist Brand Ambassador Wu Wei Huang (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, 910H hybrid, AP2 irons, Vokey Design approach, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) and Tsai Chi Huang (Pro V1x). In fact, nine of the top 10 finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
Titleist was the top choice in golf balls at the event with 103 players (81%), compared to 13 players for the nearest competitor. Titleist also was first in fairway metals (51), hybrids (56), iron sets (40), sand, lob and approach wedges (146), and putters (44).
KOREA: SoonSang Hong (Pro V1x, 910F fairway metal, 910H hybrid, CB irons, Vokey Design pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Del Mar Circle T Putter) relied on solid iron shots and formidable putting to top DoGyu Park (Pro V1x, 910F fairway metal, 910H hybrids, Vokey Design approach and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Studio Select Laguna 1.5 putter) 4 and 3 in the final of the Munsingwear Championship. It marks Hong’s first match play title. With the victory, Hong climbs from No. 3 to No. 1 in the KPGA money Ranking. Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 20 of the 32 players in the event, five times more than the nearest competitor with 4.
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