Viktor Hovland made a clutch par on the first hole of an all-Pro V1 playoff to claim his fourth career victory on the PGA TOUR.
The longtime Pro V1 player made four back-nine birdies coming down the stretch Sunday, including two over his final four holes to for a closing 2-under 70 (and 7 under total) to force extra holes with Denny McCarthy (Pro V1).
With his winning par on Muirfield Village’s difficult par-4 18th, Hovland became just the third player with wins in each of the last four seasons on the PGA TOUR.
For the week, Hovland ranked 12th in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and 19th in Greens in Regulation. He made 19 birdies over the four days (T2) and recorded zero double bogeys.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler posted Sunday’s best round – a 5-under 67 – to finish third, making it a 1-2-3 finish for Pro V1 golf ball players. Scheffler led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+20.705), with more than 15 of them coming from Approach (+11.839) and Around the Green (+4.022).
HOVLAND ON HIS PRO V1: “I just always grew up with the Titleist Pro V1 feel and always loved it. There was not a thought in my head that occurred, ‘Oh, I should maybe try a different ball.’ Why would I? I was really happy with the consistency. I think there’s always been this consensus that you go in the pro shop and you buy a sleeve of balls, you’re going to get the same ball as the last time you bought the sleeve of balls. I think that consistency gives you that reassurance that you know what you’re going to get.”
– “It's just something that I’ve always played. I remember growing up in Norway when we would in the summer at night, we would go out and fish for lake balls and try to find as many Pro V1's as possible. So it's just kind of always been ingrained to play the Pro V1."
– “It's been number one for so long. I don't think that's a coincidence. So knowing that I have the best product when I go out there and play, I think that gives me confidence. I don't have to wonder or think I'm giving shots away before I've even started the round. So I think that's a nice thing to have with you.”
Gaming his Scotty Cameron GoLo 7 tour prototype putter, the runner-up at the Memorial Tournament led the field in Strokes Gained putting. He holed several key putts coming down the stretch including a 13-footer for par on No. 15 and a 7-footer for par on No. 16.
For the week, he gained over 11 strokes (11.279) on the field on the greens, while finishing 3rd in Putts per GIR (1.579) and T4 in Total Putts (25.5).
The NEW Titleist T-Series irons, the next generation of the PGA TOUR’s most played irons, made their debut this week at the Memorial Tournament. Thirteen players made the immediate move to at least one of the new models:
Lee Hodges was one of the first players to test the new models Monday morning at Murifield Village. “That 6-iron might be the best club I’ve ever it in my whole life,” he said after his first few swings with the new club.
“I mean, we hit balls all the time,” said Lanto Griffin. “So we have a pretty good idea (if) we put a good swing on it, and we get a good feel if we look up and the ball's doing exactly what we felt, then that’s a good club. That’s what you get with the T100.”
Titleist irons have been the longstanding top choice of the best players in the world. In each of the last nine seasons (and 18 of the last 19), more players on the PGA TOUR have had Titleist irons in their bags than any other brand.
Titleist’s tour seeding and validation for the new models continues this week on the LPGA and Korn Ferry Tour. In the following weeks, the process will continue across the worldwide pro tours.
Gaming his NEW Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, Stephen Ames collected his fifth career win on the PGA TOUR Champions and third victory in just 10 starts this year. The 59-year-old turned in three rounds of 67 or better (66-66-67) and made a clutch birdie on the 71st hole to pull ahead from the chasing pack. For the week, Ames finished T1 in Greens in Regulation (87%) and was a perfect 7-for-7 in getting his Pro V1 up-and-down for par.
Steve Stricker (Pro V1x) turned in rounds of 64-68-68 to finish at 16 under, one shot behind Ames’ winning total. Stricker has finished in the top 10 in each of his 10 Champions starts this season and has yet to finish worse than T8. He has three victories – including two Champions Tour majors – as well as four runner-up finishes and currently sits atop the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
The winner of the Porsche European Open had three Vokey Design wedges in the bag – SM9 50.12F, 54.10S, WedgeWorks 60T – on his way to earning his first career DP World Tour victory. The champion finished seventh in Scrambling, getting up-and-down 67% of the time.
Jorge Fernández Valdés (Pro V1) made a birdie-3 on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to earn his first career win on the Korn Ferry Tour . Fernández Valdés turned in four rounds in the 60’s (66-64-69-68) to reach 13 under and force extra holes with Trent Phillips (Pro V1x). Valdés finished the week second in Scrambling (14/18, 78%) and hit 75% of his greens in regulation. Titleist golf ball players have now won 10 of the first 12 events to start the year on the KFT.
The winner of the UNC Health Championship picked up his first career KFT victory with a full bag of Titleist equipment, including a TSR3 driver, Vokey Design wedges, and a Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.5 tour prototype putter.
WITB | UNC Health Champion: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TSR2 15.0 fairway; 716 T-MB 2 iron, 620 CB 4-6, 620 MB 7-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 52.08F, 54.14F, 58.08M wedges; Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.5 tour prototype
Titleist Brand Ambassador Jaekyeong Lee earned his third career KPGA title in emphatic fashion, closing out his opponent on the 13th hole of the championship match, 7 and 5. Playing his NEW Pro V1x golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment, Lee made seven birdies over the 13 holes to pull away. He clinched the victory with a par on the 212-yard par-3 13th.
Seven of the top eight finishers on Sunday’s final leader board played a Titleist golf ball, while six of the eight were gaming a Titleist driver.
WITB | Jaekyeong Lee: NEW Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TS2 15.0 fairway; TSi3 20.0 hybrid; T100 4 iron, 620 CB 5-7 irons, 620 MB 8-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.08M, 60.04L wedges; Scotty Cameron Del Mar tour prototype putter
Titleist Brand Ambassador Xuewen Luo posted a final round 8-under 64 – the lowest round of the day – to win his second career China Tour title by three shots. After opening with an even par round of 72, Luo turned in three rounds of 67 or better (67-67-64) around St. Andrews (Zhengzhou) Golf Club to win.
WITB | Xuewen Luo: NEW Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR4 8.0 driver; TSR3 13.5 fairway; TSi 18.0 hybrid; T100 4-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50, 54, 58 wedges; Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 putter
Myles Creighton (Pro V1x) earned his first professional victory, shooting a final round 4 under 68 to post 19 under and win by one shot. Eight of the top nine players on the final leader board in Columbia played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball.
Senior Ricky Castillo – playing a NEW Pro V1 golf ball and TSR3 driver among his Titleist setup – went undefeated during match play at Grayhawk Golf Club to help his team win the Division I National Championship, the team’s first national title in 22 years. Of the five players on the winning team, four played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball – including the men’s individual National Champion (Pro V1x). Two players gamed a TSR3 driver and Titleist iron sets, and three of the five had at least one Vokey Design wedge in their winning setups. The individual champ played a Vokey SM9 60T.
Of the 156 players who arrived at Grayhawk to compete for a National Championship, Titleist was the top choice in every major equipment category.
- 137 players (88%) teed up a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball at Grayhawk Golf Club, more than 15 times the nearest competitor.
- The most played driver at the NCAA Championship was Titleist with 40 percent (62) of competitors gaming a Titleist driver. Fifty-eight of those drivers were new TSR models.
- There were 66 sets of Titleist irons in play, 19 more than the nearest competitor. Titleist also accounted for more than half the utility irons in play this week (60, 56%).
- On the greens, 43 players trusted a Scotty Cameron putter, the most popular putter brand at Grayhawk.
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028