Strong and steady over the most pressure-packed 36 holes of his career, Titleist Brand Ambassador Brian Harman trusted his Pro V1 golf ball, TSi2 driver, 620 CB irons and Vokey Design wedges to a historic six-shot victory in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Harman raced out to an early five-shot lead through two rounds, following a Friday 6-under 65 – featuring consecutive birdies from Nos. 2-5 and a closing eagle on 18 – that was 8.45 shots better than the day’s scoring average (the week’s single largest differential).
From the final group, he played his next 36 holes in 3 under par (69-70), including a 2-under performance over his last five holes Sunday to claim the Claret Jug.
The 36-year-old former U.S. Junior Champion is the first player to lead The Open by 5-plus shots after Rounds 2, 3 and 4 since 1934.
“I’m over the moon. It was a tough last three days, really was,” Harman said. “Being able to get some sleep was big last night. Sleeping on a lead like that is really difficult, so glad of the way I hung in there the last couple days.”
With the win, Harman moves to No. 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest position of his career; to No. 6 in the FedEx Cup standings; and to No. 3 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings.
Prior to the start of 2017, Brian Harman had been playing a competitive golf ball and equipment (the only Titleist club in his bag at the end of 2016 was a Vokey pitching wedge).
During that offseason, he made a call to Titleist Tour Rep Jim Curran, asking for a set of Titleist irons, similar to the ones he had played as a junior golfer and in college at the University of Georgia.
Said Curran: “Brian called me during the offseason holidays last December (2016) and said he played Titleist irons before he turned professional and has not had that feel in his iron ball striking since then. He ordered a set of 716 CB’s and we agreed to meet on the range in Palm Springs the Monday of CareerBuilder. It was then that we dialed in his loft, lies and yardages. From there, Brian was low maintenance all season. I would check his grips, lofts and lies roughly once a month and he did the rest.”
Harman put his new set of CB’s in play for the first time that Thursday at PGA West’s Nicklaus Course. (He now plays the 620 CB models.)
“Very first time when I played (the CB’s) was in Palm Springs,” Harman said in 2018. “I worked with Mr. Jim Curran and we got them figured out. Finished third that week and I was having a pretty nice year.”
Three months later, Johnson Wagner asked Harman, who was still playing a competitive golf ball, if he wanted to team up at the Zurich Classic (the first year that the Zurich went to the team format).
“He was kind of curious as to what ball we wanted to play,” Harman said. “I said, ‘I played Titleist balls in college and everything. We’ll just play your ball (in alternate shot), no problem.
“We had a nice tournament... It got really windy. I was hitting some shots with Johnson’s ball, shots that I just couldn’t hit with the ball I was playing. After that round, I decided to switch to the Pro V1. …
“I hit one shot on the second hole the last day in New Orleans (with the competitive ball) that spun up into the wind. I hit it flush but it came up 10 yards short and plugged in the bunker. And I just remember thinking, ‘That’s the last time I’m going to hit that ball. I’m switching balls.’ So, I switched, man, and I’m back. When I switched (to Pro V1), I want to say I was right around 90th in the world, and now I’m 30th, I think.”… (Prior to Wells Fargo, Harman was 93rd in the OWGR. He ended 2017 at 25th.)
The following week, Harman teed up Pro V1 at the Wells Fargo Championship. On Sunday, he birdied 17 and 18 at Eagle Point GC to win by one shot. “I won the next week with it (Pro V1), the very first week I played it,” Harman said.
Harman reiterated the significance of his switch prior to last year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he finished T6: “The reason I switched back to Titleist was because of windy days and with Open Championships and major championships in mind. To flight the ball and not have to worry about it getting up and getting out of hand was a big deal.”
“I switched to this ball in 2017 from a different company and the effects were immediate. You know, the last four years on tour have been my best four put together,” Harman said prior to the 2022 U.S. Open. “I just was never able to flight my old ball. I had trouble controlling and especially in the wind and we ended up playing so much wind out here. The effects for me were immediate switching to this Pro V and I mean, it’s been a complete 180. The way that I flight iron shots, the way that I control it around the green, it saves me, I don't know how many shots it’s saved me.”
When Harman arrived at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions to open 2018, there were several new additions to his bag, including a new Titleist driver, fairways and full set of Vokey Design wedges.
Brian Harman was one of 100 players to tee up a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball at Royal Liverpool, more than four times the nearest competitor, continuing Titleist’s streak as the #1 ball at the Open Championship since records have been kept.
Like Harman, the winner of the silver medal for Low Amateur also played a Pro V1 golf ball. He was the only one of six amateurs in the field to make the cut, thanks to an opening 5-under 66 that tied him for the first-round lead.
Six of the last eight majors have been won by Titleist golf ball players, with five of them trusting Pro V1 or Pro V1x to their first major championship title:
Faced with swirling winds, pounding rain and major pressure, Brian Harman remained locked in from the tee, leading the field with 75 percent of fairways hit for the week (42 of 56). Harman, who games a TSi2 9.0 driver, hit 12 of those fairways Sunday, which tied for 1st.
For the week, he gained more than three shots on the field off the tee (+3.26), despite ranking 144th on the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance.
Said Harman on his TSi2 driver: “It’s been an awesome driver, man. Put it right in the bag right when it came out and it’s hot, it’s fast, it’s high. I can do whatever I want with. It’s great.”
Titleist was the most played driver at the Open Championship (42/27%), as it was at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Titleist drivers have been the top choice of players on the PGA TOUR for four seasons and counting. This season, 32 percent of players on the PGA TOUR have had a Titleist driver in the bag, compared to 22 percent for the nearest competitor.
Brian Harman was unflappable from tee to green at Royal Liverpool, making just six bogeys the entire week. When he missed the green, he got up-and-down 75 percent of the time (18 of 24), most often with his Vokey Design 60.04L lob wedge.
The L Grind is the lowest bounce option in the Vokey matrix. The heel, toe and trailing edge relief allow for maximum greenside versatility. This grind is perfect for firm conditions and designed for precise players who have complete control at impact, allowing for maximum shot-making versatility.
“The 60 needs to be super versatile, and it’s great out of the bunkers. I use it mostly out of the rough and any sort of chipping around the green,” Harman said.
Cheyenne Knight (Pro V1) and Elizabeth Szokol (Pro V1 Left Dot) combined for final round best-ball 65 (5 under) en route to a one-shot victory. The duo reached their winning total of 23 under after recording alternate shot rounds of 69 and 62 (Rds. 1 and 3) and best-ball rounds of 61 and 65 (Rds. 2 and 4).
On Sunday, Knight made birdie on the 72nd hole to pull ahead of runner-ups Matilda Castren (Pro V1x) and Kelly Tan (Pro V1x).
Titleist Brand Ambassador Guntaek Koh made birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture his second KPGA victory of the 2023 season. Koh, gaming a Pro V1 golf ball and NEW T100 irons among his all-Titleist setup, shot a final round 67 to reach +44 in the event’s Stableford format and force extra holes.
Titleist swept every major equipment category – golf balls, drivers, fairways, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters – with nine of the top 12 players finishing inside the top 10 positions on the final leader board playing a Titleist ball.
WITB | Guntaek Koh: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR2 10.0 driver; TSi2 15.0, 18.0 fairways; NEW T100 3-P irons; Vokey Design 52.08F, 58.08M wedges; Scotty Cameron Newport 2 tour prototype putter.
The winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship trusted her Pro V1x golf ball, TSR3 driver and full bag of Titleist equipment to a 1-up victory in Saturday’s 36-hole championship match. The champion started off the week strong, shooting rounds of 68-72 (4 under total) around the United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course to enter match play as the No. 3 seed.
Five straight match victories gave the San Jose-native a berth in the 36-hole final, in which she holed a 7-foot par putt on the 18th green to win 1-up, surviving a grueling week of 159 holes of competition.
With the victory, the winner receives exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open (Lancaster Country Club) and the 2023 & 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Bel-Air Country Club and Southern Hills Country Club), along with an invitation to the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
WITB | U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Champion: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TSi2 15.0 fairway; T200 3 iron, T100•S 4-P; Vokey Design SM9 48, 54, 58 wedges; Scotty Cameron Newport SS tour prototype putter
Nick Gabrelcik shot a clutch final round 8-under 64 – the lowest round of the week at The Honors Course – for a come-from-behind, one-shot victory. Trusting an all-Titleist setup from his Pro V1 golf ball to his TSR3 driver, Titleist irons, Vokey Design wedges and Scotty Cameron putter, Gabrelcik jumped 23 spots up the leader board to edge out Dylan Menante (Pro V1x). The highlight of Gabrelcik’s final round came on No. 17, where he made eagle to reach his winning total. A par on No. 18 put the finishing touches on a back nine 31 and an Elite Amateur Golf Series event victory.
Titleist was once again the top choice of players competing at the Southern Amateur in every major equipment category, with more players choosing Titleist golf balls, drivers, fairways, hybrids, utilities, irons, wedges and putters than any other brand.
WITB | Nick Gabrelcik: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TSR3 16.5 fairway; TSR3 19.0 hybrid; 620 CB 4-6 irons, 620 MB 7-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.10S, WedgeWorks 60.06K wedges; Scotty Cameron Masterful tour prototype putter
Stuart Macdonald (Pro V1) emerged victorious from a three-person sudden-death playoff, earning his first career win on the PGA Tour Canada. The champion shot a final round 65 to reach 19 under and force extra holes before going birdie-birdie-par-birdie to outlast his opponents and clinch the title. Including regulation play, the champion made four birdies in four attempts at the 593-yard par-5 18th.
The winner of the SunBet Challenge – Wild Coast shot three rounds of 68 or lower (68-67-64) on his way to a one-shot victory at Wild Coast Sun Country Club. The champion trusted his Pro V1x golf ball down the stretch, as he came home in 30 strokes, making birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 before making eagle on the par-5 16th and birdie on the last. The win was the champion’s first career Sunshine Tour victory.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Wocheng Ye posted 12 under to secure a one-shot victory and his third career China Tour title. Nine of the top 10 players on the final leader board trusted a Titleist golf ball along with 112 players in total – more than 12 times the nearest competitor (9).
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028