Sahith Theegala (Pro V1) became a PGA TOUR winner on Sunday, posting 4-under 68 to close out a two-shot victory in his home state of California. A former three-time All-American at Pepperdine, the 25-year-old was in complete control of his Pro V1 golf ball over the four days in Napa, gaining more than eight shots on the field on approach shots (+3.322/18th) and around the green (+4.96/2nd). It all added up to four rounds of 68 or better at the Silverado Resort and a field-best 24 birdies (plus one eagle).
– “I just really like the feel of the golf ball. For me, short game is kind of where I feel the golf ball the most, and I just love how the Pro V1, for me, feels like it sticks on the face, just a hair, and I feel like I have ultimate control around the greens. And with the longer shots, I've always been a high spin player. So the Pro V1 kind of lets me not worry about spinning it too much, which is great.”
– “I feel like I’m almost one with the club head as I’m going through the ball, and it just kind of sticks for me, and I just have full confidence in the ball no matter what I set up and how I practice and all that, I know the ball's going to do exactly what I want it to do. I mean, there’s very rarely an instance where I hit the shot that I want to and the ball doesn't react how I want to. That speaks a testament for such an imperfect game, how Titleist has really been able to dial in the Pro V1.”
– "I've tried other golf balls, but I just feel like Titleist, performance-wise, has been the best for me. … It's been the number one ball on tour for quite some time now. I would just say the confidence level I have with it, and the trust I have in it, I have no reason to doubt the golf ball at all.”
– "I think the consistency of the golf ball is everything. Out of 100 balls, you can make 99 great balls, but then if you have one bad ball, that kind of ruins your trust and confidence. I feel like every single time, I’m not even worried about that one bad ball, because of all the R&D and all the people that are in the factories, just double-checking, triple-checking everything, quality control, I know is great. So, yeah, it’s just knowing that everyone trusts it consistently, and not just everyone trusting it, but the stats and everything are backing it up. Just knowing that is really big. And not even having to think about it (the golf ball), that just shows how good the product is.”
Titleist golf ball players swept the top 6 positions in Napa, while nine of the top 10 played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x. Of those nine, four played Pro V1 and five played Pro V1x:
Titleist was the #1 ball at the Fortinet Championship with 115 players (74%), more than seven times the nearest competitor.
Seven of the top 10 finishers at the Fortinet Championship gamed a Titleist TSR driver – including Callum Tarren, who ranked 1st in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, gaining more than five strokes (5.351) on the field. Max Homa ranked 2nd, gaining 4.819 strokes.
Titleist was most played driver this week in Napa (50/32%) and has been the most played driver on the PGA TOUR for the last five seasons.
Eight of the 10 players finishing inside the top 10 on Sunday’s final leader board played at least three Vokey Design wedges. For the week, there were 240 Vokey Design gap, sand and lob wedges in play, more than all other brands combined.
Locking up his PGA TOUR card for next season, the winner of the Simmons Bank Open rolled his Pro V1 golf ball in from over 20 feet on the last to punctuate a final-round 66 and three-shot victory. The champion began the day one shot back of the 54-hole leaders and played his final 12 holes in 7 under on Sunday, storming up the leader board to reach his winning 17-under total. The victory marks the champion’s second win of the 2023 KFT season, following the AdventHealth Championship in May. He now ranks 6th on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with two events remaining.
Steve Stricker (Pro V1x) continued his season to remember, winning for the sixth time after posting rounds of 62-66-66. Stricker made four birdies and an eagle on Sunday to reach 16 under for the week and win by one. Over the three rounds at Minnehaha Country Club, Stricker hit 81% of his Greens in Regulation and finished T4 in Scrambling, getting his Pro V1x up-and-down on eight of 10 attempts.
It marked the 20th win for Titleist golf ball players in 22 events played this season on the PGA TOUR Champions.
“It was a battle,” Stricker said. “Always on these Sundays trying to win a golf tournament is a battle, not only your emotions, the game, everything, you know, just trying to get it done. But it’s so rewarding when you do it.”
In addition to his victory on Sunday at the Sanford International, Stricker won three of the four Champions Tour majors in which he played: the Regions Tradition, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the Kaulig Companies Championship. He also recorded victories at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai and the American Family Insurance Championship. Out of the 15 Champions Tour events Stricker has teed it up in this season, he has finished T8 or better in all 15 and has recorded 13 top-5 finishes.
Gaming a full bag of Titleist equipment, including his Pro V1 golf ball and TSR2 driver, Titleist Brand Ambassador Chanwoo Kim shot a final round 8-under 64 to capture his first career KPGA title. With weather reducing the event to 36 holes, Kim’s 12 under total earned him the one-shot win. Kim topped a final leader board that featured Titleist golf ball players in 12 of the top 13 positions, including all of the top 4. Six players among the final top 10 played a Titleist driver.
WITB | Chanwoo Kim: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR2 8.0 driver; TSR2 13.5 fairway; U•500 2 iron, 620 CB 3-5 irons, 620 MB 6-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 52.08F, 56.12D wedges; Scotty Cameron Super Select Del Mar putter
Entering Sunday three shots off the lead, Hideto Tanihara (Pro V1x) closed with a bogey-free 5-under 67 to reach 18 under and win his 19th career JGTO title. Tanihara turned in four scores in the 60’s for the week (68-69-66-67) at the Sapporo Golf Club to win by one.
Kyle Barker (Pro V1) made birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to earn his second Sunshine Tour victory of the season. Barker began Sunday's final round seven shots back but went out in 30 after a six-birdie front nine. He remained steady on the back, posting a final round 65 to set the clubhouse lead at 10 under. A birdie 3 for Barker in extra holes closed out the tournament.
The champion of the 36th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur trusted her Pro V1 golf ball on her way to a come-from-behind victory, winning six of the final seven holes to win, 2 up. The winner was 3-down through 11 to the 2017 Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion in the all-Pro V1 championship match when she began her charge, and three birdies in her final five holes saw her close out her first USGA championship. With the win, she is exempt into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club as well as the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships, held at Southern Hills and Bandon Dunes, respectively.
The winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sleepy Hollow gamed three Vokey Design SM9 wedges (50, 54, 60) and a Scotty Cameron Futura X Long tour prototype putter on his way to winning the championship for the third time. The No. 16 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking defeated his opponent, 3 and 2, in the 36-hole championship match.
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028