Titleist Brand Ambassador Wyndham Clark earned his first career PGA TOUR victory Sunday at Quail Hollow, trusting his Pro V1x golf ball and Titleist driver, irons and Vokey wedges to a runaway four-shot win in the designated event. Clark posted four rounds of 68 or better, including a bogey-free 63 on Saturday that proved to be the best round of the tournament, to finish at 19 under.
Clark’s breakthrough win was the result of a sensational week of ballstriking. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+12.026), with more than eight of those strokes gained from his approach play (1st, +8.859). Nobody hit more greens in regulation than Clark this week in Charlotte (T1, 81%), and he ranked T6 in Scrambling, getting his Pro V1x up-and-down 71% of the time.
Playing his Pro V1x golf ball, Clark topped a leader board that featured 17 Titleist golf players in the top 20. In total, 111 players at Wells Fargo played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x model, seven times the nearest competitor.
– “Honestly, one of the most important things in a player’s bag is the golf ball. If you don’t have control of that, then it doesn’t matter how you’re swinging, how the clubs are made, whatever. The golf ball is so important, and that’s ultimately what goes into the hole. Having faith and trusting your golf ball is huge.”
– “I play [Pro V1x] because it’s kind of the perfect combination for me of launch and spin. … I'm a low spin player, I have a lot of speed, but I don't spin the ball very much. And the Pro V1x, especially with my irons and driver, spins at the numbers that I want. Also, I think it's great around the greens. So I’ve always been looking for spin. And this Pro V1x gives me exactly what I need.”
– “The spin means the most to me, because I'm a low spin player, so I need the spin to help keep the ball in the air, to be able to control it better around the greens. And that's the most important thing for me. And especially out on Tour, you need to be able to have the ball to stop very quick, and that's what this ball does.”
– “What’s unique in our game is you can get the ball and your equipment dialed into the exact thing that you need. And with Titleist having different [models], I was able to find one that with my irons, spun perfectly, and with my driver, spun perfectly. And around the greens, I was able to stop it quick and do everything I wanted with it.”
– “When I tee it up, I feel very confident with my golf ball. I never feel like it’s going to fail me. And that’s huge. It’s one variable I can just check off the list that I know is not going to keep me from being the best player that I can be.”
Wyndham Clark made his first PGA TOUR start of 2022 (The American Express) with a brand new bag of Titleist equipment, having played competitive clubs through his last event of ‘21 (RSM Classic). Over that offseason, Clark visited the Titleist Performance Institute to get dialed in to his new setup.
In January of ‘22, when he teed off in the first round of the AmEx, Clark was ranked 249th in the Official World Ranking. Forty-three starts later, following his maiden Tour victory Sunday at Wells Fargo, Clark has climbed to his highest position ever at No. 31 – while making 16 consecutive cuts and earning four top-6 finishes in his last six starts.
Clark’s victory at Wells Fargo playing a Titleist driver made it three wins in four weeks on the PGA TOUR for Titleist driver players. That includes the Zurich Classic, where Titleist Brand Ambassador Davis Riley and his teammate both had Titleist drivers in the bag.
This week in Charlotte, one-third (51/33%) of the field played a Titleist driver, 15 more than the nearest competitor. Playing his TSi3 9.0 model, Clark gained over two shots on the field (+2.483) off the tee at Quail Hollow on his way to leading the event in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green.
"I use this driver because it’s so consistent. My misses are incredible and that’s big for me...,” he said. “When you miss with the Titleist it stays within the parameters that I need to play good golf. And that’s ultimately why I use Titleist clubs, especially this driver.”
“My short game was there when I needed it,” Clark said to the media in his press conference following Sunday’s win.
His average proximity to the hole from 50-125 yards when hitting from Quail Hollow's fairways was 8 feet, 1 inch, ranking third best in the field and more than 11 feet better than the field average. From 50-125 yards in the rough, he averaged 19 feet 6 inches, also more than 11 feet better than the field average.
Clark also ranked T6 in Scrambling (71.4%) and T7 (75%) in Sand Saves, including a memorable up and down Sunday on the par-4 11th. Facing a shortsided 20-yard shot from front left greenside bunker, Clark splashed his Pro V1x to 3 feet, 5 inches to save par.
– “I use the SM9s, these are incredible. Vokey's done a great job in creating a wedge that launches at the launch you want, which is kind of a lower launch, but with a ton of spin. And that's what all of us out here strive and try to get with our wedges is that lower launch that fights through the wind. But then when it lands, it is really receptive.”
– “In the 46, I use the 10F and then the same thing pretty much with the 52, I use the F Grind, which is a little touch more bounce, so that I’m very shallow. And so when I try to hit a low trap draw or a high soft wedge, it reacts the same and doesn't dig.
– “The 56, I have the 10S which is 10 degrees of bounce and the S Grind, which has a touch less than my other wedges, 46 and 52. This is a very versatile club for me, has a ton of spin and I’m able to attack both front and backs pins with this.
– “The most important club for me, probably in my bag, is this A grind. I use the SM9 60 degree A grind, which is a low bounce 60, which I think is very versatile. And I'm able to – on tight lies, rough, wet lies, firm lies, whatever it is – I can hit the shot I want. And with the amount of spin I want, trajectory and everything. So these SM9s are I think the best wedges ever made.”
Said Vokey Rep Aaron Dill on Clark’s lob wedge: “The 60A was a co-design project with Geoff Ogilvy. That's how it started. It was based off of Australian Sand Belt golf courses – firm and tight. It's essentially an L grind with a ribbon removed, a smooth, fast moving wedge. It's a really low bounce, close sitting wedge, built for firm and fast conditions.
“One of the things that he really values is trajectory management, meaning he wants to launch it low. He’ll play it three-quarter shots, he’ll play it half shots, but mainly it’s kind of his greenside short game club that he’ll use a lot and it’s just become a good friend for him because he feels like he can slide into the ball easily when things are cut tight on conditions like Quail.”
Patty Tavatanakit (NEW Pro V1x), Ariya Juatanugarn (Pro V1x) and Moriya Jutanugarn (Pro V1x) prevailed as members of Team Thailand at this week’s International Crown, as the team defeated Team Australia in Sunday’s Championship matches. Tavatanakit won her singles match 4&3 while the Jutanugarn sisters won 4&3 in the alternate shot format to contribute two matches for Team Thailand Sunday afternoon at TPC Harding Park. By the week’s end, Team Thailand had won 11 of 12 matches, having won each of their pool play matches before advancing past Team USA and Team Australia in the semifinals and finals respectively.
The 2021 ANA Inspiration Champion contributed to four winning matches this week for Team Thailand while gaming a TSR2 9.0 driver, TSR2+ 13.0 and TSi2 18.0 fairways, T200 (4) and T100 (5-P) irons and three Vokey wedges (SM8 50.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60T), in addition to her NEW Pro V1x golf ball.
Two of her teammates gamed a similar three-wedge Vokey setup. One of them, the 2013 LPGA Rookie of the Year, also played a TSR3 driver.
Adrian Meronk (Pro V1) made six birdies Sunday on the difficult Marco Simone GC en route to earning his third career DP World Tour title. The only player to shoot four rounds in the 60’s (68-68-66-69), Meronk was in total control of his Pro V1, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+3.87 per round). The 29-year-old as led the field in SG: Off the Tee (+2.08 per round), SG: Around the Green (+1.88 per round), and Scrambling (78%).
The winner of the DS Automobiles Italian Open trusted three Vokey Design SM9 wedges (50.12F, 54.10S, 58.10S) on his way to winning his third career DP World Tour title. The champ put on a short game display all week long, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (+1.88 per round) and Scrambling (78%). On Sunday, the winner made several key up-and-downs and holed a short chip from the rough on No. 2 en route to his one-shot victory.
Playing in his first PGA Professional Championship, Titleist Staff Member Braden Shattuck turned in rounds of 70-71-68-70 at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Golf Clubs to win by one shot. The Philadelphia PGA section member and PGA Director of Instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club is one of 20 PGA Professionals who earned a spot in the field at Oak Hill for the PGA Championship in two weeks’ time – 11 of whom gamed a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball.
NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 8.0 driver; TSR2 18.0 fairway; T100 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 52, 58 wedges
NEW Titleist Pro V1x Yellow golf ball; TSR3 8.0 driver; TSi2 15.0 fairway; T200 2 iron, 620 CB 4-5 irons, 620 MB 6-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46, 52, 56, 62 wedges
NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 9.0 driver; TSR3 15.0 fairway; TSi3 18.0 hybrid; U•500 3 iron, 620 CB 4 iron, 620 MB 5-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 54.12D, 60.08M wedges; Scotty Cameron Super Rat putter
NEW Pro V1x golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TSR3 18.0 fairway; T200 3 iron, T100•S 4-5 irons, T100 6-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 50.12F, 54.12D, 58T; Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5 tour prototype putter
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 8.0 driver; TSi3 13.5 fairway; TSi3 18.0 fairway; T200 4-5 irons, T100•S 6-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46, 50, 56, 60 wedges; Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 putter
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 9.0 driver; TSR3 15.0 fairway; TSR2 18.0 hybrid; T100•S 4-5 irons; T100 6-7 irons; 620 MB 8-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 50.08F, 54.10S, 60.04L wedges
NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 9.0 driver; TSR3 16.5 fairway; 718 T-MB 4 iron; 718 AP2 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50, 56, 60 wedges; Scotty Cameron Newport SS putter
NEW Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR2 10.0 driver; TSR1 15.0 fairway; TSR1 18.0 hybrid, TSi3 23.0 hybrid; T100•S 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50, 56, 60 wedges; Scotty Cameron Newport 2 SS putter
NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 8.0 driver; TSR3 18.0 fairway; U•500 3 iron, T100 4-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50, 54, 58; Scotty Cameron GoLo 7 putter
NEW Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR2 10.0 driver; TSR2 16.5, 21.0 fairways; U•505 4 iron, T100•S 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50, 54, 58 wedges
Playing the NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, Stephen Ames collected his fourth career win on the PGA TOUR Champions and second victory of the year. The 59-year-old won in convincing fashion, shooting a final round 68 to reach 19 under and win by four shots. Ames hit all but four fairways (90%) and three greens in regulation (94%).
Ames’ victory makes it six wins on the PGA TOUR Champions for 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x just nine events into the 2023 season.
Neil Schietekat (Pro V1x) won by four shots after posting 11 under for the week at Royal Harare Golf Club. Schietekat posted rounds of 67-69-66-75 to separate himself from the chasing pack. Three of the top four finishers this week in Zimbabwe played a Pro V1x golf ball.
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028