With a clutch finish at Wentworth, Titleist Brand Ambassador Billy Horschel closed out his second career BMW PGA Championship by playing his final four holes Sunday in birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle.
Horschel, gaming his Pro V1x model golf ball, NEW GT3 driver, blended set of Titleist irons and Vokey SM10 wedges, birdied his final two holes of regulation to card a 5-under 67 and reach 20 under for the week.
He birdied the par-5 17th to get within one of the lead before nearly holing his third shot – a 91-yard wedge from the fairway – on the 72nd hole to force a three-way playoff.
On the first extra hole, Horschel got up-and-down for birdie from the greenside bunker. On the second, he striped his tee shot and flushed a long iron into the center of the green to set up the tournament-winning eagle.
For the 74 holes he played this week at Wentworth, Horschel made 26 birdies (1st in the field) and two eagles, including a stretch of seven birdies in a row on Saturday between Nos. 8-14 en route to a moving day 65.
Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60V (@62) wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (46), Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx S400 (52-60)
– “The control of the Titleist golf ball is by far better than any ball on the market. When you hit a shot, when you try to hit a five-yard draw, you want that ball to turn five yards. You don’t want it to draw 10 yards, or you don't want it not to draw. So to be able to control the golf ball is such a vital key in the game of golf. Doesn’t matter what level you’re at. When you’re expecting a shot to turn out a certain way, control wise, and that golf ball is not doing what you want, you have an issue, and with a Titleist golf ball, I’ve never had an issue once.”
– “The reason I love this Pro V1x, it’s got a little bit more spin and has a little bit higher launch angle. I just love it because I can do so much with it. I want the ball to launch higher naturally and I can work it going down. It’s tough for me to launch the ball up in the air, so (I like) anything that can get the ball up in the air and then I can easily bring it down and flight it. And then knowing that the spin is going to be consistent throughout the clubs, whether it's a three-quarter shot or full shot, is vital in the sense of distance control. And then around the greens, when we play firm fast greens – I'm thinking especially elevated greens, I’m thinking it’s places like Augusta, places like this earlier year at Pinehurst where we’ve got to hit the ball a little higher but have some spin still to it so it can hold onto greens and check. I have a lot of confidence in this golf ball that no matter what the conditions or what the shot calls for, the ball is going to produce what I want.”
– “It’s a fine margin out here on the PGA TOUR and if you can find any little bit of an edge to give you that little bit of advantage I’m going to take it. And so for me having my spin rates be consistent, having the feel, the softness of the feel around the greens be the same, and how it’s going to land on the green. I want to know that ball, if I hit the shot the way I want, it’s going to produce with the results I want – and I get that, and I’ve gotten that throughout my entire career with the Titleist golf ball.”
With the tournament on the line, Billy Horschel delivered off the tee twice in extra holes, finding the 18th fairway with his GT3 driver. Horschel was one of the first players to move into the GT models, putting his GT3 9.0 (Fujikura Ventus Black TR 6 X) in play immediately at the Memorial Tournament, the first week GT models arrived on TOUR.
“So I put the new Titleist GT3 in the bag right away at Memorial,” said Horschel. “Hit it, right away within five or six balls, was really impressed with the ball speed, with the consistency of the spin rate. On shots that I hit perfectly and on shots that I’ve mishit a little bit, I’ve gained distance... I’ve never gained two to three, almost four miles per hour before with a driver and instantly I’ve gained that, and I’ve seen that on a regular basis now versus my TSR that I was using.”
“The thing that is important about this driver that I think people aren’t overlooking but aren't talking about enough is whether you hit it in the center or you miss it a little bit, the spin rate is very consistent. Whether I hit it good and it’s 2,300 [RPM’s] or I miss it a little bit off the bottom and it's 25[00] or maybe 26[00]. It's crucial because if I’m trying to carry a bunker that is sort of at my limit and I miss it, I know that if I miss a little bit, it'’ going to be really close to my perfect spin rate, which is around 23 to 2,400 and that I still have a chance of carrying that bunker... So having the confidence of when I need to carry something that I know even if I do miss it, the spin rate’s going to be there, we’re still going to get the very close, if not the same amount of carry as a perfect golf shot.”
Billy Horchel’s blended set includes T100 long irons (3,5) with 620 MB blades from 6-through-9.
Said Horchel: “I've got a little mixed combo set in here. Worked with J.J. [Van Wezenbeeck] with Titleist this off season for a couple of reasons. I wanted to get more consistency with my spin rates in my irons. The golf ball has been a vital key to that, but we wanted to see if we could be a little bit more consistent with the spin rates. And J.J. had a couple ideas, and we went to the T100 heads with the 3- and 5-iron. I love the blades, I love the 620 MB's, but it’s nice to have a little more forgiveness in your long irons. We don’t miss the center of the face too much, but when we do, having the T100’s to be able to help us a little bit, to allow us to not only get the distance out of it, but the dispersion left-to-right and be closer to our line is huge. It could be the big difference of hitting a green versus hitting in the water, hitting in a bunker... I have the 620's through the 6-iron through the 9-iron, had these in for a couple years now, love them. The consistency of them, the shot shaping ability, the ability to work the shot, whichever way I want, I just love it.”
Horschel wedge setup included four Vokey Design SM10 modesl: 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M, and WedgeWorks 60V (@62).
“Been playing [Vokey wedges] now for four or five years.... worked with Aaron Dill, Bob Vokey, unbelievable wedge builders, the way their mind thinks, the way they see things, the ability to just make little subtle changes to help us out with the feedback we give them has been a huge success. My wedge game’s improved since I put these in a bag, not just around the greens, but into the greens from 125 to 150 for the last couple of years. I don’t know where I am this year, but I was a top-25 wedge player on tour, and I have to give a big shout out for having these wedges in the bag for that.”
Horschel, who plays a 60-degree V Grind, prefers a lob wedge setup that offers sufficient forward bounce without sacrificing greenside playability.
“I've got the V grind. I love this grind,” said Horschel. “When I hit full shots, there's enough bounce there that it doesn't slide underneath the ball. The bounce saves me and the ball, you want to hit it in a certain spot. It's hitting right up in the second or third or fourth groove when you're hitting full shots. And then out of bunkers and hitting flop shots, because of the relief on the backside as well, it opens up and I can really slide underneath.”
Before settling on the V Grind, Horschel tested and played with other lob wedge grinds. He found that the V was the best fit for his technique, as narrower and lower-bounce options promoted contact high on the face. The higher bounce of the V Grind allowed him to make contact lower on the face, delivering consistent flight, spin and, ultimately, better distance control.
“As much as our technique is consistent, certain weeks how we enter and deliver the club is a little bit different... With the V, it just gave me that ability where I could, when I hit down, the bounce sort of engages a little bit more, [the ball] came out lower.”
One of Master Craftsman Bob Vokey’s three keys to great wedge play is a lower, more controlled flight. Proper contact, between grooves two through five, is key to achieving a lower ball flight with maximum spin, and the right grind helps players achieve proper contact.
In total control of her Pro V1x golf ball, Lydia Ko left no doubt Sunday at TPC River’s Bend, making seven birdies and an eagle on her way to a closing 9-under 63 and five-shot victory. It marked Ko’s third victory in her last four starts, following her historic wins in Paris and the AIG Women’s Open at the Old Course.
Ko was the only player to shoot all four rounds in the 60’s (67-66-69-63), finishing the four days at 23 under par.
Her performance was a model of consistency, as Ko hit 51 of 56 (91%) fairways and 58 of 72 (81%) greens in regulation. She made just one bogey over the 72 holes.
Ko has now posted 134 bogey-free rounds on the LPGA since 2014, 50 more than anyone over that period (according to @JustinRayGolf).
“I’ve used the Titleist ball for a really long time and I can speak from my experience that every time I’ve tried something new I’ve been able to see a difference, and I just love how it is the #1 golf ball. It’s not just an advertisement. It is something that I believe and something that I really trust. The golf ball is such a crucial part of the equipment standpoint and in the game.”
The winner of the Kroger Queen City Championship won with four Vokey wedges (Vokey Design SM10 46.10F (@44), 48.10F (@49), 54.10S, 58.08M wedges) and a Scotty Cameron P5 GSS tour prototype putter (centre shaft), which she used to average 1.54 putts per hole and just 24 putts on Sunday, tied for least among the field.
About Titleist Media Center
Titleist, Golf’s Symbol of Excellence, is the game's leading performance equipment brand, having earned the overwhelming trust of tour professionals, club professionals, competitive amateurs and dedicated golfers worldwide. The Titleist golf ball embodies superior performance, innovative design and technology, precision manufacturing and unmatched quality. It is the unequivocal #1 ball in golf, and has been for 70 years and still counting. Titleist also sets the standard for golf clubs through an unwavering commitment to performance, meticulous attention to detail, and as the game’s preeminent golf club fitter. Titleist golf gear, comprising golf bags, headwear, travel gear, accessories and golf gloves, also delivers the performance and quality excellence promised in every product that bears the Titleist Script.
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- James Savage
- PR and Communications Manager at Acushnet Europe Ltd
- james_savage@acushnetgolf.com