Donald and Tseng lead Titleist golf ball loyalists to seven-win week
Fairhaven, MA (October 24, 2011) – Unprecedented success continued around the globe for Titleist golf ball players, led by Pro V1x loyalists Luke Donald and Yani Tseng. Donald advanced his position as World No. 1 by capturing the Children’s Miracle Network Classic, and securing the PGA Tour’s prestigious season-ending money title in the process. Tseng, the world’s top-ranked women’s player and home country favorite this week, earned her 10th worldwide victory of the season at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship. K.J. Choi captured the inaugural CJ Invitational on the Asian Tour, an event he hosted in his native South Korea, while Toru Taniguchi won his 17th career Japan Golf Tour title. Additional victories on the Australasian, Nationwide and South African Tours increased the 2011 Titleist golf ball win count to 153, more than six times the nearest competitor with 23.
TITLEIST HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 23
PGA TOUR: Luke Donald put an exclamation point on the finest season of his career, coming from five shots behind in his victory. He closed with an 8-under 64 en route to a 17-under 271 victory total, two strokes clear of his nearest competitor … The victory marks the second PGA Tour win of the year for Donald, who also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average (68.86) … Donald edged Titleist Brand Ambassador Webb Simpson (Pro V1x, 909D3 driver, 910F fairway metals, 910H hybrid, 680 irons, Vokey TVD sand and lob wedges) for the money title … Simpson, who also enjoyed the finest year of his PGA Tour career, finished runner-up in the FedEx Cup standings, money list and Vardon Trophy race … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 91 players, seven times the nearest competitor with 13 … Titleist also was first in iron sets (32); sand, lob and approach wedges (106); and putters (50), and second in drivers (30); fairway metals (31); and hybrids (T-26).
LPGA: Yani Tseng closed with a six-under 66 for a five-shot victory over Pro V1 loyalists Azahara Munoz and Amy Yang. Tseng finished at 16-under 272 for her seventh LPGA Tour victory this year, which includes two major championships. She has 12 victories in four seasons on the LPGA Tour … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 61 players, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 8.
ASIAN/KOREAN TOURS: K.J. Choi (Pro V1) captured the inaugural CJ Invitational, closing with a five-under 67 en route to a 17-under 271 victory total … Choi overcame a three-shot deficit at the start of the day … Titleist Brand Ambassador Seung-yul Noh of South Korea (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910Fd fairway metal, New MB prototype irons, Vokey Design pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron California Del Mar putter) closed with consecutive six-under par 66’s to finish solo 2nd, two shots behind Choi … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 76 players, more than four times the nearest competitor with 17 … Eight of the 12 players who finished among the top 10 and ties relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success … Titleist also was first in hybrids (35); iron sets (32); and sand, lob and approach wedges (107), and was second in drivers (25); and putters (25).
JAPAN: Toru Taniguchi (Pro V1x) closed with a six-under 65 to win the Bridgestone Open by five shots over four players, including Titleist Brand Ambassador Michio Matsumura (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 910H hybrid, New AP2 prototype irons, Vokey Design gap and lob wedges) … Taniguchi, who also won the event in 2004, finished at 15-under 169 … The win is the first of the season for Taniguchi, and the 17th of his JGTO career … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 42 players.
NATIONWIDE: Gavin Coles (Pro V1x) birdied two of the final three holes to capture the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open by one shot over Jonas Blixt (Pro V1x) … It marked the fifth career Nationwide Tour title for Coles, while it was Blixt’s third runner-up finish this year … Coles won with a six-under 274 total, the highest winning score on the Nationwide Tour since 2008 … The win also assured him a promotion to the 2012 PGA Tour, having started the week 45th on the money list and vaulting to 15th … Blixt improved to 5th on the money list with his seventh top-10 finish of the season … The top 25 on the season-ending money list earn PGA Tour cards for next year … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 102 players, more than six times the nearest competitor with 16 … Titleist also was first in iron sets (44); sand, lob and approach wedges (145); and putters (58), and second in drivers (45); and fairway metals (44).
SOUTH AFRICAN: Titleist Pro V1x loyalist Darren Fichardt (Pro V1x) won the Sunshine Tour’s Suncoast Classic by a six-shot margin, firing a final round four-under 68 en route to a 13-under, 203 victory total … Ulrich van den Berg claimed solo 2nd, while Alex Haindl, Allan Versfeld and Warren Abery shared 3rd place, another shot back … Each of the top five finishers relied upon the Titleist Pro V1x for their success. … Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 89 players (76%), nearly four times the nearest competitor with 23.
AUSTRALASIAN: Michael Wright (Pro V1x) birdied the final hole to win the Western Australian PGA Championship by one shot over Terry Pilkadaris (Pro V1) … Wright topped a leaderboard that included 10 Titleist golf ball loyalists among the 11 players who finished in the top 10 and ties … Seventy-two percent of the field (95 players) relied upon Titleist golf balls at the event, nearly four times the nearest competitor with 25.
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Contact:
Joe Gomes
Director of Communications
Acushnet Company
(508.979.3211)
Joe.gomes@acushnetgolf.com
