N.S. PRO Modus3 Tour 120 Finishes Two Shots Back in Second Full-Field PGA TOUR Event of 2012; Player Now No. 1 on PGA TOUR Money List
SAN DIEGO, California (January 22, 2012) – After last week’s victory in the PGA TOUR’s first full-field event of the new golf season, Nippon Shaft followed up with a second-place finish Sunday at the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif.
A bogey-free final round of 7-under par on the Palmer Private course gave the 31-year-old out of Virginia Tech a total of 22-under 266 on rounds of 68-67-66-65, two shots behind the winner. He once again used the N.S. PRO Modus3 Tour 120 shafts in his irons.
“Nippon Shaft is pleased that its ‘designed-for-the-Tour’ steel shafts once again could contribute to the success of one of the circuit’s up-and-coming young players,” said Hiro Fukuda, head of sales and marketing for Nippon Shaft.
The 6-foot 3-inch native Texan picked up a runner-up check worth $418,133 and now leads the PGA TOUR money list with $1,573,133 – more than he made all last year. He won the Sony Open on Jan. 15 and finished ninth at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
A second Nippon Shaft player finished in a two-way tie for 12th, his second top-15 finish of the year.
Nippon Shaft products are available either as stock or custom shafts in many of the world’s top iron brands.
In addition, Nippon Shaft products are available through Shaftology – Nippon Shaft’s dedicated clubfitter network – and through the custom club departments of top club manufacturers.
A number of PGA touring pros – including former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team members – are playing prototype versions of the MODUS3 shafts in PGA and European PGA tournaments this year. The Tour 120 model weighs between 114 and 126 grams and comes in S, X, and Tour X flex options. An R flex is new this season. Other models still in the testing phase weigh as little as 106 grams and as many as 139 grams – but all meet the requirements of top players.
The N.S. PRO MODUS3 series shafts are popular with tour pros because they offer optimal performance in the three key areas:
Desired trajectory, which comes as a result of the unique shaft structure;
Accurate distances, thanks to the shaft’s unique raw steel material and accompanying heat treatment;
Tight dispersion, which comes from the exacting tolerances of the highest quality level.
Nippon Shaft made its reputation in the late 1990s by developing the first high quality lightweight steel shaft. The revolutionary N.S. PRO 950GH became the industry’s first sub-100 gram steel shaft, combining the stability and consistency of heavier shafts with extremely light weight. Soon, Nippon Shaft grew to be the No. 1-selling shaft in Asia, controlling 80 percent of the market, and No. 2 worldwide. Along the way, Nippon Shaft recorded more than 100 pro tour victories worldwide and became the dominant shaft on the LPGA Tour.
Nippon Shaft manufactures all of its steel and graphite shafts in a state-of-the-art factory at its headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The company’s integrated production lines are strictly monitored and controlled with thorough checks conducted responsibly through the entire production process, Fukuda said. As a result, Nippon Shaft is able to control high product quality – from material selection to final testing.
Nippon Shaft has more than 100 professional victories worldwide. Based in Yokohama, Japan, Nippon Shaft is the No. 1-selling steel shaft in Asia, where it controls 80 percent of the golf shaft market.
Nippon Shaft is a privately-held subsidiary of NHK Spring Co. LTD, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer. Nippon Shaft’s North American headquarters is in San Diego.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801 (office)
847-867-3032 (mobile)
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
